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		<title>Butterfinger Cheesecake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/butterfinger-cheesecake-2/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/butterfinger-cheesecake-2/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 14 Jan 2017 17:36:50 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Candy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cheesecake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Halloween]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Peanut Butter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Butterfinger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[butterfinger cheesecake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[candy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cheesecake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cheesecake recipe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cookie dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[halloween]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oreo]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5708</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Please enjoy this throw-back recipe.  One of my favorites! I might be a wee-bit obsessed.  With cheesecake, of all things. Which, actually is a GOOOOOD thing, but really, why can&#8217;t I be obsessed with Kale?  Or Flax Seed?  Or Chickpeas?  (I don&#8217;t know &#8211; those are the first three healthy-like things that popped into my cheesecake-obsessed head.) This cheesecake, you guys &#8211; it&#8217;s awesome.  It&#8217;s easy.  It goes together in no time, and you can change it up with your favorite add-ins, toppings, and crust.  Today, it happens to be a chocolate cookie crust, chocolate fudge topping, and BUTTERFINGER® mix-ins. Let&#8217;s just pause for a moment and let that sink in. &#8230; Folks, Halloween is right around the corner.  Time to hoard those BUTTERFINGER® bars! Speaking of Halloween, this recipe is actually just perfect for your spooky festivities. It&#8217;s a given that my candy dish is always full of BUTTERFINGER® bars on Halloween, but when your guests see a  BUTTERFINGER® cheesecake, you won&#8217;t even have to wear a super hero costume.  You will instantly be upgraded to super-hero status, no cape required. BUTTERFINGER® has a new product &#8211; BUTTERFINGER® Peanut Butter Cup Minis &#8211; and when I found them at Wal-Mart last week, the wheels were already turning.  They&#8217;re soft, so I knew they&#8217;d be a perfect mix-in for my favorite cheesecake recipe. I opted for a chocolate cookie crust to balance out the overall flavor, and it&#8217;s great.  Super-hero great. When I got home, loaded up with tons of BUTTERFINGER® products, I immediately went to check out their Pinterest page for more ideas,  and there are some good ones!  In fact, my Butterfinger Poke Cake was right on top! Back to the cheesecake for a moment &#8211; don&#8217;t forget my cheesecake tips: First, use a really good quality springform pan.  This will help prevent leaks and a soggy crust.  Second, don&#8217;t overbeat your batter.  Too much air in your batter = cracked cheesecake.  Drop it on the countertop a few times to pop the bubbles in the batter before you pop it in the oven. And finally, don&#8217;t open your oven door while it&#8217;s baking.  Let it do its thang, and you&#8217;ll be rewarded with a beautiful cake when 90 minutes is up. Easy as pie.  Er, cheesecake.  Whatever, you&#8217;re a super-hero, so you got this. Be sure to check out more delicious Butterfinger recipes on the Butterfinger Pinterest page. I&#8217;d love to hear about your favorite way to enjoy Butterfingers in a recipe!  And, you can earn $1 with Ibotta Offer! Hope you love this one guys!  Back soon with more! Butterfinger Cheesecake &#160; Print Prep time 2 hours Cook time 90 mins Total time 3 hours 30 mins &#160; My favorite cheesecake is easy to make your own with mix-ins, toppings and a chocolate crust. A chocolate cookie crust with BUTTERFINGER® Peanut Butter Cup Minis and hot fudge topping, this version is definitely a winner. Serves: 12 servings Ingredients Crust: 24 Chocolate Sandwich Cookies &#188; cup unsalted butter, melted Filling: 4 (8-ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened &#190; cup granulated sugar 2 Tablespoons corn starch 2 eggs at room temperature &#189; cup sour cream at room temperature &#190; cup heavy cream 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 bag (8 ounces) BUTTERFINGER® Peanut Butter Cup Minis Topping: 10 oz hot fudge topping, warmed 5-6 BUTTERFINGER® Fun-Size, roughly chopped Instructions Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Prepare a 9-inch spring form pan with cooking spray or butter. To prevent water seepage, wrap the spring form pan in heavy-duty aluminum foil. I use two layers of extra-large sheets. Place spring form pan into a large roasting pan, and set aside. In a food processor, pulse sandwich cookies until finely ground. Add melted butter, and pulse until completely combined. Pour mixture into the springform pan, and use the bottom of a glass to press the mixture into the bottom of the pan in an even layer - do not come up the sides with this crust. Set aside. In the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large bowl with a handheld mixer) beat cream cheese with your paddle attachment until smooth and creamy. Add cornstarch, and beat to combine. Add sugar, and beat until completely incorporated. Add eggs, one at a time, beating completely after each addition. Add vanilla, sour cream and whipping cream, and beat until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl at least once. Chop the BUTTERFINGER® Peanut Butter Cup Minis and fold gently into the batter. Pour batter into the prepared springform pan. Drop the filled cheesecake firmly on to your countertop several times to release any air bubbles. Return the springform pan to the roasting pan. Place the roasting pan, with wrapped springform pan inside, into preheated oven. Fill the roasting pan with water, until halfway up the springform pan. Work quickly, so you don't release too much heat from the oven. Bake for 90 minutes. DO NOT open the door during baking. Remove cake from roasting pan, and allow to cool for 30 minutes on a wire rack. After 30 minutes, run a thin knife around the outside of the crust to release from the sides. This will help prevent cracking. Cool for another 30 minutes on a wire rack, then lightly cover and move to the refrigerator. Continue to cool for at least 4 hours, but ideally overnight. Before serving, top the cheesecake with warmed hot fudge sauce. Sprinkle chopped BUTTERFINGER® Fun-Size over the top of the cheesecake, and as a garnish around the outside edge of the cake. Enjoy! 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<item>
		<title>Pumpkin BTS Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/pumpkin-bts-cake-2/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Sep 2016 14:14:05 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pumpkin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thanksiving]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5702</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Note: This is a throw-back post, but so popular that everyone needs to see it again.  Enjoy!  So, I don&#8217;t really care what you call this cake.  Anytime you combine pumpkin, homemade whipped cream and caramel sauce?  Uh-MAZE-ZA-ZING.  My last BTS cake has driven almost 1,200,000 visitors to Lemon Sugar, and is among one of my most requested desserts in my inner circle. Inner circle?  That means my family.  I don&#8217;t know why I called them my inner circle.  I&#8217;m clearly not Miley Cyrus.  I don&#8217;t have an &#8220;inner circle.&#8221; But if I did, I would totally feed them BTS cake. If you&#8217;ve never made homemade whipped cream, I want you to go to the store right now.  Right NOW.  It&#8217;s super, super, super easy to make, and it will make you look like a rockstar.  And you&#8217;ll eat it with a spoon.  And it will be ok. Well, more than ok.  It will be inner-circle worthy. Once again, thanks to my redonkulously busy schedule these days, I started with a cake mix.  Ya&#8217;ll know that I&#8217;m always an advocate for from-scratch baking, but I get it &#8211; life gets busy.  Sometimes life calls for a cake mix, and I&#8217;m just going to have to learn to be ok with that. Ok, and I have to address this because it&#8217;s going to come up. The name of the cake. I didn&#8217;t name it, folks. And if you&#8217;re new here, BTS stands for &#8220;Better Than Sex.&#8221; I repeat.  I didn&#8217;t name it. And it&#8217;s just a name. And it&#8217;s probably not meant to be a literal description.  It&#8217;s probably intended to be a figurative illustration of a really darn good cake. And that&#8217;s all I have to say about that. So, let&#8217;s recap.  DELICIOUS cake.  Make your own whipped topping.  Boxed cake mix is fine in a pinch, and I DID NOT NAME THIS CAKE. Enjoy.  It&#8217;s fab.  I&#8217;ll let YOU decide just how fab YOU think it is. But I didn&#8217;t name it.  😉 Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet, make sure you stop by my Facebook page and follow along – you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!  Leave me a comment below so I know you were here! ♥erin Pumpkin BTS Cake &#160; Print Prep time 25 mins Cook time 35 mins Total time 1 hour 30 mins &#160; The pumpkin version of Better Than Sex cake is sure to win over pumpkin fans everywhere. Recipe adapted from: Something Swanky Serves: 12 servings Ingredients 1 box Duncan Hines Spice Cake Mix 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 1 and &#189; cups heavy whipping cream &#188; cup powdered sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup Heath Bar or toffee candy chips Approx &#189; cup caramel sauce, homemade or storebought Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Prepare an 8x8 or 9x9 square baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside. In a medium sized bowl, beat together spice cake mix and pumpkin puree. Mixture will be very thick. Beat until just combined. (Do not add additional ingredients called for on cake mix box. Only two ingredients requrired here.) Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake for 35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow cake to cool for at least 20 minutes. Then, using the round end of a wooden spoon, poke holes all over the top of the cake, approximately 1 inch apart. Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the top of the cake, and use a spatula to guide into poked holes. Allow cake to cool completely. Prepare whipped topping. In a large, clean bowl, beat whipping cream on medium high speed until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, and beat until stiff peaks form. Spoon whipped cream over cooled cake, and spread with a spatula. Top with toffee candy and caramel sauce. Refrigerate until time to serve. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<item>
		<title>Summer Corn &#038; Bacon Chowder</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/summer-corn-bacon-chowder/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/summer-corn-bacon-chowder/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 24 Jun 2016 03:39:52 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Garden]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Main Courses]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Summer Favorites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Weeknight]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bacon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chives]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chowder]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[corn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[potatoes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[soup]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[summer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sweet corn]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5673</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m a soup person.  I love it, and I can eat it year &#8217;round &#8211; yes, even when it&#8217;s 103 degrees outside.  (Which is good because it was PRECISELY 103 degrees outside when I made this yesterday!) There&#8217;s something about this particular recipe thought that really doesn&#8217;t feel like a soup &#8211; or a chowder &#8211; but feels lighter and screams summertime.  The combo of the fresh sweet corn with potatoes and bacon is a marriage made in heaven, so I was particularly excited to team up with my friends at Smithfield to bring you this fabulous summer treat. Perhaps the thing I love the MOST about this recipe is that it&#8217;s super fast &#8211; about 30 minutes, so it&#8217;s the perfect recipe for a busy summer night.  And, since the farmers markets and grocery stores have just started tempting me with ears of sweet corn, well &#8211; it&#8217;s just been calling to me. Plus, bacon.  It goes with everything, doesn&#8217;t it?  And with every meal?  My girls have recently become smitten with it that I was literally having to watch my bowl of crispy-garnish-bacon (it&#8217;s a thing) while I was making this soup for you all today &#8211; otherwise they would have scarfed it down in three-seconds flat. We&#8217;re big fans of Smithfield Hometown Original Bacon here &#8211; not only can we find it in all of our grocery stores, but it&#8217;s always delicious and perfectly smoked and cured.  It comes in other flavors too, so be sure to check it out. The chowder is a very basic, layered recipe.  First sweat the onions in butter and bacon for flavor, then create your roux with flour, then add the liquid and boil the potatoes, and then thicken with half and half. See?  Easy-peasy.  Honestly the most difficult task here is chopping onions and cutting up potatoes.  So easy. I like to serve mine with soft potato rolls and a tall glass of sweet tea &#8211; such a perfect summer meal. There are a couple of tips you should know when making this recipe &#8211; first, make sure you get the bacon nice and crisp &#8211; you want to be able to use it as a garnish when you&#8217;re done. Second, use a bundt pan to help remove the corn kernels from the cob. Third (ok, maybe more than a couple of tips&#8230;) cut all of your potatoes into small and equally-sized pieces &#8211; this will help cooking speed. And finally, if the chowder doesn&#8217;t thicken up the way you want it to, feel free to mix a bit of flour with a bit of half and half and add it to the soup at the end &#8211; you&#8217;ll only need a Tablespoon or so of flour and about a 1/4 cup of half and half.  Whisk to remove lumps and dump it in while stirring constantly. For more meal inspiration and recipe ideas, visit smithfield.com or Facebook.com/CookingwithSmithfield.  There are tons of (OMG delish) bacon recipes living there, and you won&#8217;t be sorry.  Smithfield Hometown Original Bacon can be found at grocery stores nationwide, so run-don&#8217;t-walk to your favorite store and get your bacon on! I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!  Enjoy! Summer Corn &#38; Bacon Chowder &#160; Print Prep time 5 mins Cook time 25 mins Total time 30 mins &#160; This quick summer soup is full of fresh corn and crispy bacon, and is sure to become a family favorite! Serve with soft potato rolls and enjoy! Author: Lemon Sugar Recipe type: Dinner Cuisine: American Serves: 12 servings Ingredients 8-10 ears fresh sweet yellow corn, kernels cut from the cob &#188; cup unsalted butter 5 slices bacon, cut into &#188; to &#189;-inch pieces 1 medium yellow onion chopped &#188; cup all-purpose flour 1 clove garlic, finely minced 5 cups water or low-sodium chicken stock 1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into small &#189;-inch pieces &#189; tsp dried thyme 1 bay leaf Salt and pepper, to taste 1 cup half and half or heavy cream 1 Tbsp honey 2 - 3 Tbsp chopped fresh chives Shredded cheddar cheese, for serving (optional) Instructions In a large dutch oven or soup pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add the onion and bacon to the melted butter, and saute until the bacon is browned to desired crispiness. Use a slotted spoon or spider to remove the bacon (onion is ok to leave behind) and place the bacon on a paper-towel lined sheet, set aside. To the butter/onion mixture, add in the flour and garlic and cook 1&#189; minutes. While whisking, slowly pour in 5 cups water (or substitute low-sodium chicken stock) Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, then stir in corn kernels and potatoes. Add the dried thyme and bay leaf and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer, and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove bay leaft. Transfer about 2&#189; cups of the chowder to a blender and blend until smooth. Stir the blended chowder back into the large pot, and stir to combine. Add the half and half and honey, and stir. Sprinkle each serving with chives and cheddar cheese, plus a healthy serving of crispy bacon. 3.2.2925 This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Smithfield.]]></description>
		
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		<item>
		<title>No-Crack Cheesecake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/no-crack-cheesecake/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 11 Jun 2016 15:14:02 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cheesecake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Header]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cheesecake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[graham crackers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plain cheesecake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water bath]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5658</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Best cheesecake ever.  It doesn&#8217;t crack.  It&#8217;s crumbly but not dry.  It has a THICK, buttery graham cracker crust. It&#8217;s the best. The end. Seriously. So. good. I don&#8217;t have a lot of words about this.  I&#8217;ve made cheesecake a number of times, but I&#8217;ve never shared my go-to recipe with you all, which frankly seems like a crime against humanity.  Or against lemon-sugarers, at least. Cheesecake has a bad rep for being difficult and finicky &#8211; which it can be.  I&#8217;ve tested SO many recipes over the years, all of them claiming to be the best of course, but it wasn&#8217;t until I started tweaking and making it my own that I really came into my cheesecake game. Yup.  I just said that. So, I don&#8217;t like cheesecake that&#8217;s too creamy.  It&#8217;t not custard, after all.  I like it to be creamy AND crumbly &#8211; not too dense, not too fluffy.  I like a thick crust, and graham cracker is the way to go. I don&#8217;t want to have to worry about over-mixing, under-mixing, wrapping my pan in aluminum foil.  This recipe has solved all of my #cheesecakeproblems. Start with room temperature cream cheese &#8211; and don&#8217;t buy the cheap stuff.  The cheap cream cheese has a funky texture and higher water content &#8211; so go with the good stuff.  And NEVER, EVER use low or reduced fat (or heaven forbid, fat-free) cream cheese.  It&#8217;s a cheesecake, folks.  It is what it is. Own it. Also at room temperature?  Eggs and sour cream.  Just set them out 30 minutes before and they&#8217;ll be fine. Now, don&#8217;t go in with the idea that you CAN&#8217;T under or over mix this batter &#8211; you can.  But follow the recipe exactly and you&#8217;ll be fine.   Don&#8217;t overthink it. Yes, this recipe does require a water bath, but I&#8217;ve found a way to avoid the soggy crust from a leaky springform pan.  Aluminum foil will do the job &#8211; about 80% of the time.  If you don&#8217;t wrap it perfectly, your pan will always leak. I left the aluminum foil method in the instructions, but there&#8217;s a BETTER way!  If you are using a 9-inch springform pan, run to your nearest baking supply store and purchase a 10-inch aluminum round cake pan with 3&#8243; sides.  Your springform pan will fit right into it, and voila &#8211; leak proof pan. I use my big turkey roasting pan for my water bath and it works great &#8211; also gives the pan another use the other 364 days of the year. 🙂 Make sure you leave plenty of time to let your finished cake refrigerate for 12-24 hours before you eat it.  It will be hard, (#cheesecakeproblems) but you will be rewarded with the best darn cheesecake of your life. I love this cheesecake plain, but it&#8217;s great with cherries, chocolate, berry compote, caramel&#8230;can&#8217;t go wrong. Hope you love it as much as we do. Enjoy! Basic Cheesecake Recipe Type : Dessert Cuisine: American Author: Lemon Sugar Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 90 mins Total time: 1 hour 50 mins Serves: 12 sevings The best cheesecake of your life, plus a solution to all of your #cheesecakeproblems. Enjoy!]]></description>
		
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		<title>Key Largo: Onion Crusted Yellowtail &#038; Key Lime Pie</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/key-largo-onion-crusted-yellowtail-key-lime-pie/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Jun 2016 00:54:08 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entertaining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[No Bake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Seafood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crusted]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[healthy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[key lime pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mango]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seafood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[whipped cream]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5642</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[This is a contributed post as a special feature to Lemon-Sugar.com.  It includes a contributed recipe from Chef Bobby Stoky, but also a Lemon Sugar original: Key Lime Pie!   Enjoy!  The Florida Keys is home to five districts, each with their own personality and attractions that make visitors feel like they are a world away. Growing up around fish, Chef Bobby Stoky quickly learned how to do it all, from catching to cleaning and even cooking them. In the summers he would dive for lobster and in the winter his family would set up nets to catch shrimp that they would then sell from a stand to locals and visitors of Key Largo. In 1982, his parents became the owners of Señor Frijoles Mexican Restaurant and so started Bobby’s path to becoming a chef. Bobby’s family moved to Key Largo in the seventies because they loved to fish and his father became a charter boat captain. A resident of the district for over 35 years, he is sure to be an expert in all that must be done in the area. And today, he is our guide to all things that must be seen and devoured in Key Largo. Chef Bobby gives us the lowdown on what he would do on a day off in Key Largo. The northernmost district of The Florida Keys, Key Largo, is home to tropical views and beautiful botanicals. The site of the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Key Largo is a true outdoor adventurer’s paradise. Because of where it is located, any visitor to Key Largo must spend a considerable amount of time in the clear waters. Bobby suggests paddle boarding in the picturesque Everglades National Park or diving off the coast. Head out on a charter boat and go fishing with the pros. Then you can say you caught your own dinner! Key Largo’s beautiful scenery has made it the ideal location to shoot a multitude of movies, and it hosts Humphrey Bogart’s Film Festival every year. For movie buffs and avid fishers, Key Largo is also a perfect destination for food travelers looking for the lowdown on fresh seafood and Key Lime Pie. The Stoky family went on to open other restaurants and today Chef Bobby runs the kitchens of eight different legendary restaurants in Miami and The Florida Keys. One of his most popular locations, Sundowners, sits right on the Florida Bay in Key Largo and offers guests a beautiful view of the sunset with a tropical cocktail in hand and a plate of fresh Florida Keys seafood. Chef Bobby even wrote a book that is a great reference for the cuisine of  The Florida Keys called, Recipes and Tall Tales from Legendary Restaurants of the Florida Keys. Head to Key Largo to stay in a magical­ feeling an underwater hotel, or to scuba past schools of fish and submerged statues. Bobby recommends travelers looking for adventure stay in Jules Underseas Lodge. Submerged underwater, it is a truly stunning stay. Instead, if you are hoping to spend your time in the water rather than simply under it, consider Amy Slate’s Amoray Dive Resort. And finally, for couples who need a romantic getaway, book a stay at Key Largo’s Kona Kai. Beachfront bungalows offer the perfect amount of privacy in close proximity to the beach. So what kinds of fruits and flavors can one find when they travel to Key Largo? Bobby could give us quite of list of food to be sure to try, but these are some of his favorites. The Keys are famous for their fresh yellowtail snapper and stone crabs. In his own restaurants, Chef Bobby especially loves to cook yellowtail snapper, right off the fishing boat, encrusted in onion and served with mango salsa. And on a hot day, he opts for something lighter like a grilled mahi mahi. Native to the area, the Florida Keys spiny lobster looks similar to the common lobster we are more familiar with, but the spiny lobster’s antennas are larger and thick. From November to June, have a bite of Key West’s Pink Shrimp. The bright crustaceans have a uniquely sweet taste that is easy to fall in love with. Fresh fish must be made with fresh flavors, and Bobby admits that visitors will find plenty of tropical fruits in dishes, like the Key lime, mangos, pineapples, starfruit, or dragon fruit. “I often comment that farm to table is not a new phenomenon in the Keys –it has been part of our fishing history..fresh fish from the ocean to your table every night&#8230;that’s what the Florida Keys are famous for.” Also known as the Conch Republic, the restaurant menus of Keys Largo are loaded with dishes containing conch. Over the years, the locals have even come to be called Conchs. Although fishing restrictions off the coasts for conch are quite strict today to prevent over fishing, the seafood is still a well loved tradition, even if that means bringing conch in from the Bahamas to keep the dishes alive. From conch chowder to conch fritters, conch salad, conch encrusted yellowtail snapper, and even conch eggs benedict, you can find just about anything with conch in Key Largo. Chef Bobby’s favorite way to eat conch is called cracked conch. Originating in the Caribbean, when done correctly, cracked conch is battered, fried and tastes sweet and tender. Bobby likes to serve the fried seafood with a tangy cocktail sauce or wasabi aioli. Head to Sundowners, Market 88, or Buzzards Roost in North Key Largo to try a rendition of Chef Bobby’s favorite cracked conch. Before diving into a plate of Key Largo seafood, how about diving down below to see where the fish comes from? As a diver, Chef Bobby has grown up with the stunning reefs of the Florida Keys. His favorite spot to dive or snorkel is in north Key Largo off of Horseshoe Reef. There is so much marine life to be seen on the reefs of Key Largo, so when you come to the area, be sure to dive in and get a closer look. For an above the water experience, take a nature tour by way of kayaks through one of the mangrove channels that line the islands. From a boat you can see colorful fish, impressive manatee, and an array of birds. Keep your eyes open, sometimes you will even see bottlenose dolphins or turtles. If you are heading out for a dive or a kayak adventure, start your day with a Key Largo breakfast. Chef Bobby likes to go to the Key Largo Conch House for a Key West shrimp, conch, crab or lobster benedict. Another favorite among the locals is The Hideout Restaurant. This hole­in­the­wall eatery serves a fish and grits breakfast, a dish that was once the traditional morning meal of the Conchs. Don’t forget dessert! In all of the Keys, the local restaurants are fanatical about serving the best Key Lime pie and so visitors will find many different versions of the traditional sweet. At Chef Bobby’s Sundowners restaurant, they serve the pie piled high with meringue, the traditional topping. From frozen key lime pie to chiffon ­style or a custard pie that is the original, there are so many different variations. Bobby’s favorite pie, besides the one he makes in his restaurants, can be found at Key Largo Fisheries Bayside Café. Not too sweet, nice and tart, and served plain without meringue, this pie is a classic and can even be shipped around the country. A great feature of Key Largo for any culinary traveler is its lack of chain restaurants. Chef Bobby proudly admits that most of the restaurants found in the district are owned and operated by locals who are committed to serving great food. Besides one of his own restaurants, Bobby loves to take visitors to Key Largo Fisheries Backyard Café for lunch. Sit at a table on the deck overlooking one of Key Largo’s remaining commercial fishing fleets while dining on fresh Florida Keys Lobster, yellowtail snapper, Key West pink shrimp, and fresh stone crabs. Chef Bobby’s favorite is the lobster croissant BLT! One of Chef Bobby’s all­ time favorite recipes is this yellowtail snapper. The onion crust is in this dish is also great on shrimp, scallops, lobster, or chicken, but Key Largo yellowtail is amazing. Onion Crusted Yellowtail &#160; Print Author: Chef Bobby Stoky Recipe type: Lunch Cuisine: Seafood Serves: 4 servings Ingredients Yellowtail: 4 - (6-­8 ounce) yellowtail fillets, pin bones and blood line removed 1 large yellow onion, sliced thin for onion rings &#189; cup panko bread crumbs 1 and 1⁄2 cups flour 1 tablespoon Black Caesar’s Blackening Spice 2 eggs, beaten Vegetable oil for frying Key Lime Butter (prepare in advance) 6 Key limes, juiced 1 stick of butter &#188; cup of good quality dry white wine Mango Salsa (prepare in advance) 1 ripe mango, diced 1 green pepper, diced 1 tomato, diced &#189; red onion, diced 4 fresh Key limes, juiced Salt and pepper to taste Instructions Yellowtail preparation: In a large, deep saute pan or fryer, preheat enough vegetable oil to cover onions. Heat oil to approximately 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium bowl place 1 cup flour and blackening spice. Toss sliced onions in flour mixture and lightly shake off any excess flour. Place dusted onion rings into hot oil, and fry for 4­5 minutes, stirring onions occasionally, until onions are dark brown. Remove onions from the oil, and place on paper towels to remove any excess oil. Allow onion rings to cool to room temperature. Then using a kitchen knife or a food processor, chop onion rings until they are about the size of the panko bread crumbs. Place chopped onion rings and panko bread crumbs into a medium bowl, and mix well. Dredge the fish through remaining flour, then through the beaten eggs, and then press yellowtail filets into the onion ring and panko bread crumb mixture. Place a large saute pan on the stove and add enough oil to just coat the bottom of the pan. Place battered filets into the saute pan and saute over medium high heat for 3­-4 minutes per side, or until onion crust is lightly browned, and fish is white throughout. Top with Key lime butter and mango salsa....and enjoy! Key Lime Butter (prepare in advance) Melt butter over medium heat, add dry white wine, and key lime juice. Remove from heat and let rest at room temperature. Mango Salsa (prepare in advance) In a bowl, add diced mango, green peppers, diced tomatoes, red onions, Key lime juice, and salt and pepper, and mix well. 3.2.2925 Key Largo Key Lime Pie &#160; Print Prep time 10 mins Cook time 10 mins Total time 20 mins &#160; This super-simple key lime pie will make it feel like summertime in your kitchen, no matter what time of year it is! Author: Erin Mahoney Recipe type: Dessert Serves: 8-10 servings Ingredients For crust: 1 and ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs ¼ cup granulated sugar 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted For filling: 2 (14 oz) cans sweetened condensed milk ½ cup sour cream ¾ cup key lime juice, fresh-squeezed if available Grated lime zest for garnish Whipped cream: 1 cup heavy whipping cream ¼ cup powdered (confectioners) sugar Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). In a medium sized bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar. Stir until crumbs are completely moistened. Press into the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate. Set aside. Wipe out the bowl and combine sweetened condensed milk, sour cream and lime juice. Whisk until completely combined and smooth. Pour into prepared pie crust. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn oven off and allow the pie to sit in the oven for 30 minutes. Refrigerate to chill, pie should be cold when serving. Beat whipping cream until peaks form. Add confectioners sugar and beat to combine. Top with fresh whipped cream, and enjoy! 3.2.2925    ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Samoa Sheet Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/samoa-sheet-cake/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 31 May 2016 03:17:33 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Bars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cookies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Weeknight]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[caramel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate fudge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[coconut]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cookie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fudge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[girl scout]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hot fudge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[samoa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sheet cake]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5627</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[So, first &#8211; let me tell you about my weekend.  Then we&#8217;ll get to this DELICIOUS Samoa Cake recipe. I took a couple of extra days off before the long Memorial Day weekend, mostly to prepare for my daughter&#8217;s birthday party and get the girls to and from dance recital and rehearsal, which this year fell on Thursday and Friday evening.  NBD.  Right? Yeah. So Thursday brought some (SCARY) severe weather to my part of the world, and of course that only happens when my hubs is at work.  We&#8217;re talking tornadoes, funnel clouds, hail, sideways rain, tons of wind.  Scary. We got a whole bunch of rain all at once on Thursday, which caused the big creek in my neighborhood to flood, everywhere.  So much that we had lakefront property for a couple of days.  🙂   TONS of rain. When it floods like that, we can actually get trapped in our neighborhood, because the creek can flood over the only way in and only way out of my &#8216;hood.  So on Friday we watched the creek rise over the one entrance, and watched the creek lap at the sides of the other entrance&#8230;completely worried about getting the girls to their dance recital, and then getting home AFTER the recital. Fortunately, the creek didn&#8217;t quite make it high enough to close the 2nd entrance to our street, so we were fine, but it did manage to increase my stress level significantly during the day. Then, my husband came down with a fever and aches and was not able to help me get ready for the party like he normally would.  Not his fault, but still added stress. By Sunday morning the rain had stopped and he was feeling better &#8211; but we had about six hours of yard work to do before the party started at 4pm.  More stress. And then, about the time the party was to start, the hubs heard meowing coming from the woods &#8211; the FLOODED woods &#8211; and thought maybe our cat Max was stuck somewhere. Yup.  Max was stuck alright.  30 FEET UP IN A TREE.  ABOVE FLOOD WATERS. My daughters freaked.  Party was starting in a couple of hours.  Woods are flooded, cat 30 feet up &#8211; no way to get him down. So, he stayed there, all night long.  Poor kitty was crying and there wasn&#8217;t a darn thing I could do about it. So this morning, bright and early, I went out there and found that the flood waters were down and I called Max until he shimmied down the tree and came to me. So yes, happy ending, but not the lovely, relaxed and totally planned out weekend I was hoping for when I had a full five days off in a row! The party went off without a hitch, the girls made it to both rehearsal and recital and did great, the hubs feels better and the cat is safely on the ground.  And I survived another near-miss tornado, so that&#8217;s always a good day.  We should celebrate with some cake, no? How &#8217;bout Samoa Cake? K. After that long-winded sob story about my weekend, I don&#8217;t have much left to say about the cake, &#8217;cause it speaks for itself.  This cake is delicious.  It&#8217;s simple, pretty quick and always a crowd pleaser.  The chocolate sheet cake recipe is a favorite of mine, and the ooey-gooey caramelly topping just takes it up another notch. Get yourself a half-sheet pan and get to work! Enjoy!  🙂 Samoa Sheet Cake &#160; Print Prep time 20 mins Cook time 20 mins Total time 40 mins &#160; An upgrade to my favorite old fashioned sheet cake, this play on a classic Girl Scout cookie is always a hit. Enjoy! Author: Lemon Sugar Recipe type: Dessert Cuisine: Dessert Serves: 18-24 servings Ingredients Cake: 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups sugar 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter 1 cup water ½ cup shortening 4 Tablespoons cocoa powder ½ cup buttermilk (no buttermilk? Fill measuring cup almost to the ½ cup line, the fill the rest of the way with vinegar to make "sweet milk" - it works like a charm!) 1 teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon salt 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Icing: ½ cup butter 6 Tablespoons milk 3 cups powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla ⅛ cup caramel sauce, I used caramel ice cream topping in the jar 3 cups sweetened, shredded coconut, toasted Hot fudge ice cream topping Caramel sauce ice cream topping Instructions For cake: Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F). Grease a half sheet pan (approx 18x13) and set aside. In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and shortening together. Once mostly melted, add water and cocoa powder. Use a wire whisk to stir until smooth. Remove from heat. In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar. Pour warm chocolate mixture over the flour mixture, and beat on low speed until just combined. Add buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and baking soda, and beat until completely combined and smooth. Pour into greased sheet pan, and bake for 18-20 minutes. Immediately poke holes in the top of the cake and allow to cool slightly while you prepare frosting. For icing: Toast coconut in a dry skillet over medium heat until golden brown, stirring constantly. Set aside. In a medium microwave safe bowl, combine butter and milk and bring to a boil. Add &#8539; cup caramel sauce and powdered sugar and vanilla and stir until smooth. Pour frosting evenly over top of cake. Immediately sprinkle with top of warm frosting with toasted coconut. Drizzle generously with chocolate and caramel topping. Enjoy! 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Cinnamon Chip Scones</title>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 03 Apr 2016 01:25:21 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Breakfast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cinnamon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Header]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Other Desserts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quick]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Scones]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[breakfast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cinnamon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cinnamon chip]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quick]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scone]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5574</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Annnnnd, I&#8217;m back. You didn&#8217;t even miss me, did you?  Don&#8217;t answer that. I took a couple of months off from the old blog.  I didn&#8217;t want to, but life demanded it.  Lemon Sugar is like a second full-time job that I squeeze into the wee-hours of the morning, well after the sun goes down at night, and for 15-20 hours each weekend. But, I love it so it&#8217;s not going anywhere.  I just had to make some adjustments, and now I&#8217;m back. With scones.  I&#8217;m back with cinnamon chip scones. These scones are simply fantastic.  I was inspired by my favorite treat of all time at Panera, and it took a few tries but I finally cracked the code &#8211; and maybe made them a smidge better. They are full of cinnamon chips, and smothered with a delish cinnamon sugar glaze.  They go together in mere minutes, and keep for many days in a covered container. They are my favorite, and I love them.  They make your house smell like cinnamon and baking yum-ness.  &#8216;Cause that&#8217;s actually a word in cinnamon-scone-world. You&#8217;ll see. After you mix them all together and right before you put them into the oven, do yourself a favor and smoosh some extra cinnamon chips right into the tops of them.  It makes them prettier and you just can&#8217;t get enough of those little bursts of cinnamon. Seriously, I know I&#8217;m gushing but guys &#8211; these are GOOD. I made mine into larger scones, but if you like, you can certainly cut them smaller.  You just always want to have that triangle shape, because &#8211; well, just because.  It&#8217;s a scone-law.  (Actually the first scone I ever had was round, but I feel like triangle is the way to go here.) And don&#8217;t forget to SMOTHER them with glaze &#8211; and then let the glaze set for a while because somehow, that makes it better. Eat &#8217;em warm with a big mug of coffee (or tea if you&#8217;re fancy) and ENJOY! Cinnamon Chip Scones &#160; Print Prep time 20 mins Cook time 18 mins Total time 38 mins &#160; Warm, sweet and spicy, these cinnamon chip scones are flakey, full of cinnamon flavor and sweetened with a delicious cinnamon glaze. Soon to be your favorite breakfast treat! Author: Lemon Sugar Recipe type: Breakfast Cuisine: American Serves: 8 large scones Ingredients 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder &#189; teaspoon baking soda &#189; teaspoon salt 2 Tablespoons sugar 1 stick butter, very cold, grated 1 cup cinnamon chips 1 egg, separated 1 tsp vanilla extract &#190; cup buttermilk Glaze: 1 cup confectioners sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon &#188; cup heavy cream Instructions Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Whisk together. Using a box grater, coarsely grate a stick of very cold butter. Add grated butter to flour mixture and use a fork or pastry cutter to combine until a coarse mixture is formed. Stir in cinnamon chips. Mix egg yolk, buttermilk, and vanilla in a measuring cup. (save egg white) Add to dry ingredients and quickly stir until just combined. Scrape out onto floured surface and knead 6-8 times or until the dough just comes together. Form into a 12-inch circle, about &#190; inch thick. Cut the circle in half, then quarters, then eighths. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush each scone with egg white. Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. In a small bowl, combine confectioners sugar and cinnamon. Add heavy cream and stir until completely combined. Add a bit more if it's too thick to pour. Pour glaze over hot scones. Enjoy! 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Easy Pizza Dip</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/easy-pizza-dip/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 06 Feb 2016 00:00:09 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Appetizers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entertaining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Party Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quick]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Side Dishes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[appetizer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cheese]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dip]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[entertaining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mozzarella]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parmesan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pepperoni]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pizza]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5599</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[With the big game coming up this weekend, I&#8217;m sure many of you are in planning mode, too.  Around here, we&#8217;re all making lists of our favorite game-day treats, shopping for ingredients and definitely looking forward to snacking &#8211; maybe more so than the game itself.  It&#8217;s a tradition in our family to gather at my parent&#8217;s house for the game &#8211; and since our team hasn&#8217;t been in the Super Bowl for many years, it&#8217;s become all about the food (and the commercials, right?) and that&#8217;s a-ok with me. When sifting through my massive collections of recipes that I want to eventually share with you all, I realized that I&#8217;ve never shared this delicious pizza dip &#8211; so I knew immediately that it needed to happen, and stat. This dip is perfect for entertaining because it&#8217;s SO easy.  It takes about five minutes to put together and when you pull it out of the oven all bubbly and cheesy, you&#8217;ll be glad it&#8217;s in your party repertoire! My first order of pizza-dip business was a quick trip into Sam&#8217;s Club to stock up on Ragu®.  You guys, I am all about my big old jars of Ragu®.  I use it all of the time, for all different kinds of recipes.  For one, the ingredient list makes me feel good about what I&#8217;m feeding my family &#8211; Ragu® has a long tradition of quality ingredients.  My kids love it as a quick pasta sauce, and I love it as a base for tons of other recipes &#8211; so it&#8217;s great that I can buy it in bulk at Sam&#8217;s Club.  This 3-pack of 45-ounce bottles comes in really handy when I&#8217;m planning all of my game day recipes! Beyond the pizza dip, I also made mini lasagna rolls, baked mozzarella sticks with Ragu® dipping sauce, and mini meatball subs, coated in &#8211; you guessed it &#8211; Ragu®.  There are lots of other great recipe ideas here &#8211; check them out, too! Here&#8217;s the thing &#8211; if it wasn&#8217;t for Ragu®, my Super Bowl prep would have been much more difficult.  I was able to whip up four really tasty recipes in no time &#8211; and when you&#8217;re making that quantity of food, it&#8217;s definitely a plus when it&#8217;s so easy (and delicious!) This pizza dip though&#8230;let&#8217;s talk about it. The dip goes together in layers &#8211; the bottom layer is cream cheese, then topped with two alternating layers of Ragu®, mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese &#8211; and capped off with a layer of pepperoni.  You can add other pizza toppings if you want &#8211; or not &#8211; whatever you like.  Make it YOUR tradition! I get a lot of questions about buying in bulk &#8211; we only have a family of four, but we still definitely take full advantage of our Sam&#8217;s Club membership.  Especially with all of the baking I do &#8211; but I have to tell you that if you do any sort of entertaining at all, Sam&#8217;s Club will be a life saver for you.  It&#8217;s easy to turn your family gatherings into yearly traditions when the planning, preparation and execution is so easy! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did.  Have fun at your game day parties, and I hope your team wins.  At the very least, enjoy this pizza dip and the commercials! Enjoy! This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Ragu®. The opinions and text are all mine. Easy Pizza Dip &#160; Print Prep time 5 mins Cook time 15 mins Total time 20 mins &#160; A definite people pleaser, this easy pizza dip goes together in minutes. Use your favorite Ragu® Pasta Sauce and watch it disappear! Author: Lemon Sugar Recipe type: Appetizer Cuisine: American Serves: 1 large dip Ingredients 8 ounces cream cheese, softened 1 and &#189; cups Ragu® Pasta Sauce 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese &#189; cup grated parmesan cheese turkey pepperoni slices other pizza toppings if desired (peppers, olives, mushrooms, etc.) Instructions Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). Spread softened cream cheese in an even layer at the bottom of a 9 or 10 inch deep-dish pie plate. Spread &#190; cup of Ragu® Pasta Sauce over the cream cheese. Sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella cheese over the pasta sauce. Sprinkle &#188; cup of parmesan cheese over the mozzarella sauce. Repeat layers: sauce, mozzarella and parmesan. Top with turkey pepperoni slices. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Enjoy immediately. 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Firecrackers &#038; Football Cookies</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/firecrackers-football-cookies/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Feb 2016 04:50:33 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Appetizers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entertaining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Peanut Butter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[appetizers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crackers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[entertaining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[football]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kid friendly]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[no-bake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[party food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[peanut butter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spicy]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5583</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ScoreMoreFans#CollectiveBias Can you believe the big February football game is almost here again?  I mostly can&#8217;t believe it because January just flew by &#8211; which is really ok because as you know, I&#8217;m not a winter kind of girl &#8211; I&#8217;m counting down the seconds until warm weather. I really shouldn&#8217;t complain about this time of year though, because it&#8217;s actually pretty fun.  With all of the football parties, we&#8217;ve been pretty busy on the weekends &#8211; and on top of that, we&#8217;re getting ready to celebrate my brother and my sisters birthday&#8217;s in the next few weeks &#8211; and lots of family time is AWESOME!  (No, really &#8211; I love spending time with my family!!) I thought I&#8217;d share one of our recent football parties with you today &#8211; and thanks to my friends at RITZ® and Coca-Cola, we had a great time! RITZ® Crackers have to be one of my favorite ingredients to cook and bake with, because first of all, they&#8217;re delicious &#8211; rich, buttery, perfectly salted &#8211; they really go with everything.  My kids can polish off one of those little brown bags in no time, and I have to admit that I can too. I love them as a topping on a casserole or a breading for protein, but I have to say, two of my favorite recipes keep the crackers just as they are.  These are SO fun and you&#8217;ll totally score with your biggest fans if you show up with these goodies! My girls and I ran by Walmart to pick up all of the ingredients for our latest football party &#8211; and I was way happy to find sales and great deals on almost everything I needed.  Especially exciting was the 2 for $5 on all Coca-Cola 16.9oz 6-packs, so we picked up a few packs of Coke Zero while we were out.  It made a fun addition to our party table!  There were tons of RITZ® varieties to choose from and I stocked up, but for today&#8217;s purposes we just need the original flavor.   The great thing about these two recipes is that they are SIMPLE.  The Firecrackers are just RITZ® crackers tossed in a flavored butter sauce and then baked for a few minutes.  The Football Cookies are just peanut butter sandwiched between two RITZ® crackers, dipped in chocolate and fun little football laces piped on top.  Cute and SO DELISH! Everyone was just excited to see a big pail of Coke Zero on ice!  It was a fun little party.  Because we seem to have a different football watch party every weekend this time of year, we&#8217;re always rotating hosting duties &#8211; today my mom hosted us all so I was happy to walk in with my arms full of goodies.  In football-speak, I totally &#8220;took it to the house.&#8221;  Ha! We used the island in her kitchen as &#8220;snack central&#8221; and it worked well so we could attack the goodies from all sides.  I think we had about ten adults, and a handful of kids, and we made a serious dent in no time.  So fun. Be sure to check out more football party ideas with Coca-Cola and RITZ® at SnacksandSips.net. Hope you loved these fun party ideas!  Enjoy! RITZ® Firecrackers &#160; Print Prep time 5 mins Cook time 15 mins Total time 20 mins &#160; Quick and easy and a classic party food, these RITZ® Firecrackers are sure to be a hit! Author: Lemon Sugar Recipe type: Appetizer Cuisine: American Serves: 48 crackers Ingredients 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted 1 package ranch dressing mix &#188; cup grated parmesan cheese 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 box RITZ® crackers (about 48 crackers) Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Set aside. Melt butter. Stir all ingredients into melted butter, and stir to combine. Place crackers into a large bowl. Pour melted butter mixture over crackers. Gently toss to coat all crackers. Pour crackers onto baking sheet and spread in an even layer. Bake 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool completely before serving. Enjoy! 3.2.2925 Football Cookies &#160; Print Prep time 45 mins Total time 45 mins &#160; Always a favorite at our parties, these football cookies add a bit of fun to your sports celebrations! Peanut butter is sandwiched between two RITZ® crackers and coated with chocolate. DELISH! Author: Lemon Sugar Recipe type: Dessert Cuisine: American Serves: 48 cookies Ingredients 1 box RITZ® crackers (about 96 crackers) 1 cup creamy peanut butter 1 package chocolate candy coating (near almond bark at grocery store) 1 Tablespoon shortening, melted &#189; cup white chocolate chips (optional, to draw laces only) Instructions Spread 48 crackers with an even coat of peanut butter. Add tops to each cracker to create a sandwich. In the microwave, melt chocolate candy coating according to package directions. Once melted and stirred until smooth, add melted shortening and stir until completely combined. Lay out a large sheet of parchment paper so you have somewhere to lay the dipped cookies. Dip each cookie until completely coated, shake off excess chocolate, and place on parchment sheet. Repeat with every cookie. Once the chocolate coating has hardened, melt white chocolate in microwave. Pour melted white chocolate into a baggie (and cut off a small tip) or piping bag fitted with a small writing tip. Pipe the laces on to each cookie. Allow to harden, and enjoy! Pipe the laces 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Easy Lemon Bars</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/easy-lemon-bars/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Jan 2016 05:02:15 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Bars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured Center]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lemon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fruit desserts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lemon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lemon bars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[powdered sugar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quick]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shortbread]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[simple recipes]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5562</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I wish I would have snapped a picture of the sky today so I could show you, but take my word for it &#8211; it was gray.  Not like pretty-hazy-snowy-gray, it was cold-damp-dreary-icky-gray.  I&#8217;m so over winter, guys.  I just want it to be February already, so I can say that &#8220;at least it&#8217;s February so that means it&#8217;s almost March which means it&#8217;s almost April and then things will finally warm up.&#8221;  Sigh. However, in the spirit of making the best of the end of January blahs, I made lemon bars.  They are bright and cheery and tangy and summery &#8211; the exact opposite of what we have going on outside.  And I gotta tell you that one bite will cheer you up immediately. If I closed my eyes for a sec and stood directly over my furnace vent with my electric blankie around my shoulders, it almost felt like summer.  Almost&#8230; The very best thing about these bars is that they are SUPER easy.  The shortbread crust has just a few ingredients and goes together in no time, and the lemon curd is no different &#8211; just a quick whisk and it&#8217;s done. It&#8217;s kind of strange that I&#8217;ve never shared a lemon bar recipe before on LEMON SUGAR, but I think it&#8217;s because it&#8217;s really hard to find a good recipe. For me, that means a crust that stays tender and doesn&#8217;t over-brown, and a curd that is sweet and tangy but not eggy.  I want my lemon curd to taste like lemons, not egg yolk &#8211; and believe it or not, that&#8217;s a hard thing to find.   This recipe is perfect though.  Not even a hint of egg yolk! I have used both regular and Meyer lemons, and both are delish &#8211; but I think I prefer Meyer lemons &#8211; I love the orange undertones. A few tips: Your crust will be crumbly, and that&#8217;s ok!  It will all stick together and press nicely into your baking dish. I&#8217;d suggest using parchment or foil to help remove your bars from the baking dish.  I like to use a sheet of parchment with flaps hanging over the sides so I can just lift it out once it&#8217;s cooled. Keep an eye on your crust and your topping &#8211; you don&#8217;t want to overbake.  Remove the crust when it just turns golden brown around the edges, and remove the curd when it JUST sets up. Once you remove it from the pan, cut the crusts off, then cut into bars.  It makes them prettier! Store them in the refrigerator in an air-tight container. Hope you love this one &#8211; enjoy! Easy Lemon Bars &#160; Print Prep time 10 mins Cook time 45 mins Total time 55 mins &#160; A delicious shortbread crust is topped with a creamy, tangy lemon curd. The lemon is perfectly sweet and tart and topped with a sprinkle of powdered sugar. Author: Lemon sugar Recipe type: Dessert Cuisine: American Serves: 12 bars Ingredients 2 cups all-purpose flour &#189; tsp salt &#189; cup powdered sugar 1 cup butter, softened 4 eggs 1 and &#189; cups granulated sugar 1 tablespoon lemon zest &#8531; cup lemon juice &#188; cup all-purpose flour powdered sugar, for dusting Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Prepare a 9x13 baking pan with foil or parchment, leaving about 1 inch of foil extending over the ends. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt and powdered sugar. Add the softened butter and beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed just until mixture begins to cling together. It should be crumbly. Press into the bottom of prepared baking pan. I used the bottom of a drinking glass to help keep it even. Bake about 25 minutes or until just lightly browned around the edges. Don't overbake! Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat eggs with a whisk. Add sugar and lemon juice and whisk until well mixed. Whisk in the &#188; cup flour and the lemon peel until lumps disappear from the flour. Pour over baked crust. Bake about 20 minutes more or until edges begin to brown and center is just set. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Remove bars from pan, using the overlapping foil or parchment to lift from pan. Sift additional powdered sugar over top. Cut into bars, and enjoy! 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Fried Ice Cream Boats &#038; A Football Party</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/fried-ice-cream-boats-football-party/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 22 Jan 2016 05:06:58 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Beverages]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cinnamon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entertaining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ice Cream]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Party Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beverages]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cinnamon sugar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fried ice cream]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ice cream]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tortilla]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5539</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[YOU GUYS!  How CUTE are these little fried ice cream boats?  Even though it&#8217;s exactly zero degrees outside right now, these were still a welcome treat at our family gathering this weekend! It&#8217;s been a good sports year  in Kansas City.  Our beloved Royals (finally) won the World Series, and the Chiefs (finally) won a playoff game.  My family decided to gather to celebrate the big football game, so I thought I&#8217;d share some of our quick and easy party tips with you. Ice cream and beer.  Done. Ha &#8211; it&#8217;s not really that easy, but just about!  And because I&#8217;m one to eat dessert before the main course, let&#8217;s start with ice cream. I call this scrumptious little creation a fried ice cream boat.  The ice cream is rolled in a crunchy shell of cornflakes, sugar and cinnamon, it&#8217;s topped with chocolate syrup and whipped cream, and it&#8217;s nestled inside a baked tortilla shell. My girls love baked tortillas coated in butter, cinnamon and sugar, so when I saw these Mini Soft Tortilla Taco Boats by Old El Paso at WalMart last week, I knew they&#8217;d be the perfect bowl for our fried ice cream. They&#8217;re so easy to make &#8211; brush the shells with melted butter and then coat with cinnamon sugar &#8211; and after a quick session in the oven they&#8217;re crispy and crunchy and sweet and oh-so-good covered in ice cream and chocolate syrup.  I like mine extra crispy, so I bake them for about 15 minutes.  I could totally eat them plain, but how can you possibly pass up a big old helping of fried ice cream?  I can&#8217;t. The cornflake coating gets a quick pulse in the food processor (or just smash them with a rolling pin) and toss in the saute pan.  Your kitchen will smell buttery and cinnamon-y and it will be all you can do to keep your guests out of the freezer until they&#8217;re ready. I like to top mine with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry.  These were a HUGE hit, and since you can make them ahead of time, they&#8217;re perfect for entertaining. While we were at WalMart, we picked up a big selection of beer, and found a little bit of something for everyone. Boddingtons Pub Ale has always been one of my favorites, so I was thrilled when I saw the cheerful yellow package among the selection.  My husband honed in on the Beck&#8217;s, we grabbed some Cidre for my sister-in-law and an assortment for everyone else.  Walmart has a great selection of Budweiser beers, so it was easy to find something for everyone. My brother hosted the gathering this week, so we all contributed a side dish and it made things a bit easier on everyone.  There are 19 people in my family now, so we&#8217;re getting pretty good at our little parties.  We know how much food to bring (too much is always better than not enough), how many drinks to provide and how to keep it fun. And, dessert is a must! My brother smoked a ham, my sister-in-law found some awesome red and yellow buns (Chiefs colors!) for sandwiches, and she also made her famous pasta salad.  We had a fruit tray, a potato casserole and some chips and dip, and we were all set.  We had a great party, we kept it simple and focused on delicious food and drink, and left the rest to our favorite team. Thanks for checking out our little party.   I&#8217;m sharing the recipe for my fried ice cream boats below, I hope you enjoy them!  We still have a few weekends of football left this season, who are you watching the big game with? This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of General Mills. The opinions and text are all mine. Fried Ice Cream Boats &#38; A Football Party &#160; Print Prep time 30 mins Cook time 20 mins Total time 50 mins &#160; These Fried Ice Cream Boats are quick and easy, and use Old El Paso Mini Soft Tortilla Taco Boats as the crunchy cinnamon sugar shell! Author: Lemon Sugar Recipe type: Dessert Cuisine: American Serves: 12 servings Ingredients For shell: 1 package Old El Paso Mini Soft Tortilla Taco Boats &#190; cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted For ice cream coating: 12 scoops of vanilla ice cream, rolled into balls slightly bigger than a golf ball 5 cups corn flakes 8 Tablepoons unsalted butter remaining cinnamon sugar mixture from shell coating Garnishes: Whipped cream Maraschino cherries Chocolate Syrup Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees, (F). Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Set aside. In the microwave, melt 6 Tablespoons of butter in a glass measuring cup. In a medium bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Using a pastry brush, coat a taco boat completely with butter. Be generous. Immediately cover the melted butter with a generous coating of cinnamon sugar. Make sure to cover all sides, top and bottoms. Place coated boat on baking sheet, and repeat with 11 remaining boats. Bake for 15 minutes or until just turning golden brown. Don't let them get too dark, they'll burn quickly - but if you don't bake them long enough they won't get crispy. Allow boats to cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare ice cream. Prepare a small baking sheet by covering with plastic wrap. This pan needs to be able to fit in your freezer. Scoop 12 balls of ice cream on to the sheet. They should be slightly bigger than golf balls and as round as you can get them with your scoop. Place balls back into freezer for at least 15 minutes to re-harden. Meanwhile, prepare coating. Pulse 5 cups of corn flakes in a food processor, or crush them with a rolling pin. You want a coarse crust, not crumbs. In a large (10-inch) saute pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add crushed cornflakes and stir constantly until golden brown (about 5 minutes.) Remove from heat and spread on to a cookie sheet to cool. Sprinkle the cooling cornflake mixture with the remaining cinnamon and sugar from dipping your boats (should be a couple of Tablespoons.) Allow coating to cool completely. Remove ice cream balls from the freezer and roll them, one at a time into the crumb mixture. Use your hands to help form them into round balls. Return them to the pan and put the coated balls back into the freezer for 15 minutes. When ready to serve, place a coated ball into a cinnamon sugar boat. Top with chocolate syrup, whipped cream and a cherry. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>Champagne Brunch with KORBEL</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/champagne-brunch-korbel/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 12 Jan 2016 14:30:47 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Appetizers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Beverages]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Breakfast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entertaining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lemon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[appetizers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brunch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[buffet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[champagne]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cheese]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cocktails]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[croque monsieur]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[KORBEL]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lemon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[orange]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pancake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[raspberry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sandwiches]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[syrup]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5431</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of KORBEL California Champagne for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine. Last week I hosted a small brunch for some friends who were passing through town for the holidays.  Nothing big, but I wanted to have a few dishes for them to nibble on and some delish champagne cocktails to go with. I kept it simple with a fruit tray, a few pastries from a local bakery and then added in a couple of my own dishes: lemon ricotta pancake stacks with raspberry syrup and croque-monsieur sandwiches. It was a perfect mid-morning meal and worked perfectly with the selection of  KORBEL California Champagne I had on hand to serve. While KORBEL has many varieties to choose from, today I served their Brut, Sweet Rosé and Brut Rosé.  I used the Brut Rosé to make an orange champagne cocktail, and served the other two right out of the bottle. The Brut pairs perfectly with salty and creamy cheeses, so it was really perfect with the creamy bechamel topping on the croque monsieur sandwiches. The Sweet Rosé is a nice complement to fruit and chocolate, so it was lovely against the sweet lemon ricotta pancakes and raspberry syrup.  And of course, the Orange Sparkler was great on it&#8217;s own, made with the Brut Rosé. I&#8217;ve been part of a LOT of brunch menus in my life, and they are all different &#8211; some have food for days, some are small and light &#8211; but for me, a good brunch is a mix.  You have to have enough food for everyone (running out of food is the worst thing, ever &#8211; right?) and you need a mixture of light and rich, sweet and savory and cocktails and coffee. It&#8217;s brunch math.  Light + Rich + Sweet + Savory + Cocktails + Coffee = Winning Brunch Menu. See?  Easy. Using that formula, I served a fruit plate, croque monsieur, lemon ricotta pancakes, buttery croissants, orange sparkler cocktails and hot coffee. And the best part?  It all went together in under an hour, and my guests were SUPER happy.  Especially when I popped open the KORBEL.  Yum. Croque Monsiur?  GOOD.  Look for the recipe on an upcoming blog post. Lemon Ricotta Stacked Pancakes with Raspberry Syrup? GOOOOOOOOD. This recipe is below.  And how CUTE are they? They&#8217;re great warm, but what&#8217;s fantastic about them is that they are delicious at room temperature, too. Especially with an Orange Sparkler KORBEL Cocktail.  (I know, I keep saying that.  But how long has it been since you&#8217;ve had a champagne cocktail?)  Seriously, a good champagne cocktail will make your brunch great. Better than great. As far as decor goes, brunch is usually a very casual affair at my home, usually just right in my kitchen.  I feel like bruch should be a welcoming, un-intimidating meal.  No stuff clothes, no uncomfortable conversation.  Just good food and drinks with good friends. I stick with my theme of white plates and everything works together.  A big barnwood serving table makes for a cute, rustic look, and I just love it. Easy, right?  White plates and barnwood. Oh, and champagne cocktails. Can we talk about the Orange Sparkler for a moment?  KORBEL makes a delicious BRUT Rosé, so it was naturally a great fit for this cocktail.  It&#8217;s a versatile champagne and pairs with a wide variety of foods, but since it has a slight sweetness, I thought it would be great with the orange liqueur and I was totally right. PLUS, it worked really well with the saltiness from the ham in the croque monsiuer sandwiches. An orange segment and a spiral of orange zest made it beautiful, too &#8211; it&#8217;s a simple but really, really delicious treat for your brunch spread. Hope you love these ideas today.  My guests were raving about the food and the drinks, so head out and stock up on KORBEL California Champagne and get brunching!  There are lots of fun recipe ideas for KORBEL Cocktails here, and KORBEL Brunch ideas here, so go check them out, too. Enjoy! 3.2.2925 Orange Sparkler &#160; Print Prep time 5 mins Total time 5 mins &#160; KORBEL California Champagne makes this easy cocktail extra delicious. Garnished with an orange twist, it&#8217;s as pretty as it is tasty! Serves: 1 serving Ingredients 1 Tablespoon Cointreau, Triple Sec or other orange liqueur ¾ cup KORBEL California Champagne (Sweet Brut is best) 1 orange twist, plus orange segment, if desired Instructions Pour the orange liqueur into a flute. Top with KORBEL California Champagne Garnish with the twist and orange segment, if desired. Enjoy! 3.2.2925 Lemon Ricotta Pancake Stacks with Raspberry Syrup &#160; Print Prep time 20 mins Cook time 20 mins Total time 40 mins &#160; Pretty and festive, these delicious lemon ricotta pancakes are topped with a sweet raspberry syrup. Perfect for brunch! Serves: 40 pancakes Ingredients 3 large eggs, separated 1 and &#189; cups buttermilk 3 tablespoons sugar 1 cup ricotta cheese 1 and &#189; cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 tablespoons lemon zest (the zest from 2 large lemons) &#189; teaspoon salt 1 small jar rapsberry jam, seedless 1 pint fresh raspberries 3 Tablespoons confectioners sugar, for garnish Instructions Heat a griddle pan or large frying pan over medium heat. In a medium mixing bowl, beat togehter the egg yolks, buttermilk, sugar and ricotta cheese. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt. In a third bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the egg whites until they are stiff but not dry. Mix the dry ingredients into the buttermilk mixture - do not over mix. A few lumps remaining are ok. Gently fold in the egg whites. Lightly and carefully grease the hot pan with a very thin layer of canola oil. Spoon the batter into &#8533; inch discs, onto the heated pan. Cook for about 40 seconds on the first side, until bubbles rise and burst on the first side. Flip the pancakes and cook for about 30 seconds on the second side. Repeat with remaining batter. Stack pancakes into stacks of five. Spear with a kabob stick or decorative straw, and top with two fresh raspberries. On the stovetop, heat the raspberry jam over low heat until liquified. Spoon jam over pancake stacks, and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Enjoy! 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Cherry Whiskey Chocolate Bundt Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/cherry-whiskey-chocolate-bundt-cake/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 08 Jan 2016 03:06:01 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cherry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bundt cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cherry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ganache]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[liqueur]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[whiskey]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5512</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[So, yeah.  This might be a scary recipe title for some of you, but it&#8217;s ok.  It&#8217;s ok if you don&#8217;t like whiskey.  It&#8217;s ok if you aren&#8217;t a bourbon kind of girl.  It&#8217;s ok. Two things. One, this is seriously the best chocolate bundt cake you&#8217;ll ever have.  Ever.  It&#8217;s so moist, so tender, so crumbly and chocolatey, and it gets better after it sits for a while.   Second, while it does kind of taste like whiskey, THAT&#8217;S OK because it&#8217;s cherry whiskey and cherry and chocolate go together like, well &#8211; I don&#8217;t know.  Peas and carrots?  Coffee and cream?  Mashed potatoes and gravy? Whatever. This is a match made in heaven and I am begging you to try it soon. One of my Christmas gifts this year was an awesome bundt pan (this line is the best, check them out &#8211; totally non-stick and worth every single penny you&#8217;ll invest into it) and I was just itching to use it.  And, as it turns out, I&#8217;ve wanted to make this recipe from Epicurious for quite some time, too. That&#8217;s basically as close as it gets to divine kitchen intervention, so the cake happened the day after Christmas.  But then, everything divine (including the Christmas spirit, apparently) went right out the window because I wouldn&#8217;t share the cake.  It was mine.  I didn&#8217;t pack it up and send it to work with my husband, I didn&#8217;t share it with my family for Sunday dinner, and I didn&#8217;t let my kids have any.  (Well, I guess the whiskey played a role in that, too&#8230;) But it was so good you guys.  Especially with a big old dollop of whipped cream on top.  I want more. At first glance, it looks like a difficult recipe, but it&#8217;s really not.  Just take the steps one by one and it&#8217;s no big deal.  Just a few tips: When you take the chocolate mixture off the stove, allow it to cool for a few minutes before you add the egg mixture.  If the chocolate is too hot, you&#8217;ll scramble your eggs, and that&#8217;s no good. Use good chocolate for your ganache.  It will make your whole cake taste better Allow the cake to cool completely before you take it out of the pan &#8211; it will release much easier. Make sure you liberally coat the pan with spray or butter &#8211; every little crevice.  Nothing worse than putting all of that work into a cake and having it fall apart out of the pan! I mentioned before that this cake is better after it sits awhile, and it&#8217;s true.  It&#8217;s best on day two.  All of the flavors mesh, the ganache sets up and it just works.  I like to nuke mine in the microwave for just a few seconds and then COAT IT with whipped cream. This is a great cake for entertaining, dinner parties, holidays &#8211; but I have to tell you that I&#8217;ve really enjoyed having it on my counter this week and enjoying a small slice after dinner with some coffee.  I&#8217;m old. But at least I have cake. Hope you love it.  Enjoy! Cherry Whiskey Chocolate Bundt Cake &#160; Print Prep time 30 mins Cook time 40 mins Total time 1 hour 10 mins &#160; Rich and chocolatey with a hint of cherry whiskey, this grown-up cake is perfect for entertaining, and is best served with a huge dollop of whipped cream on top! Recipe adapted from Epicurious Serves: 12 servings Ingredients Cake: 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 and &#189; cups brewed coffee &#189; cup cherry whiskey (such as Red Stag) 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces 2 cups sugar 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 and &#188; teaspoons baking soda &#189; teaspoon salt 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla Ganache: &#189; cup heavy cream 3 tablespoons unsalted butter &#189; teaspoon instant espresso powder &#189; teaspoon vanilla pinch of salt 2 tablespoons Bourbon 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped 4 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped Instructions Cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Prepare a bundt pan with butter and cocoa powder or cooking spray (whatever works best for your pan.) Set aside. In a saucepan, combine brewed coffee, whiskey, butter and cocoa powder. Over medium heat whisk until butter is melted. Remove from heat and add sugar. Whisk until dissolved . Transfer mixture to a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and vanilla. Add egg mixture to chocolate mixture, and stir until well combined. (Make sure chocolate mixture isn't too hot so it doesn't cook your egg.) Then, add the flour mixture and whisk until JUST combined. Don't overmix. Pour into prepared bundt pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a cake-tester comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack until completely cool, at least an hour. Invert pan onto serving plate, and prepare ganache. Ganache: Add cream, butter, espresso powder, vanilla and salt into a sauce pan, bring to a boil and stir until you completely combined. Remove from heat and add the Bourbon and stir to combine. Pour the hot cream mix over the chocolate and let sit for 1 minute. Stir together until everything is well combined and no chocolate clumps remain. Whisks work well for this. Pour over the cake and let set. Enjoy! 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Baked Cinnamon French Toast</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/baked-cinnamon-french-toast/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 05 Jan 2016 05:12:48 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Bread]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Breakfast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cinnamon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nuts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[breakfast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brunch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[casserole]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cinnamon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[french toast]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5503</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Welp, the Christmas Tree is packed away, decorations are down, the Christmas music is over until next year, and the girls go back to school tomorrow. The days of staying up too late and sleeping in are in the past, and the countdown to summer has started. Seriously, is it summer yet?  I&#8217;m over the cold.  It&#8217;s all fun and games until the Christmas decorations come down, and then it&#8217;s just cold.  And cold without Christmas is no fun AT. ALL. But &#8211; bright side here &#8211; we still have French Toast, amIright?  And this?  Baked, cinnamon, crunchy, sugary topping with some nuts sprinkled in french toast?  Worth the cold.  Worthitworthitworthit. I love that this this recipe is SO easy.  It&#8217;s best if you can prepare it the night before and bake it in the morning, but I&#8217;ve prepared it just a couple of hours early too, and it&#8217;s still great.  Just make sure all of those bread crumbs soak up all of that custard and you&#8217;re in good shape. We love walnuts sprinkled over the top of ours, and I maybe *might* just increase the topping by 50% because WHY NOT?  It&#8217;s cold outside, might as well go for it. And, you know when you go to the grocery store and you buy a big, beautiful loaf of bread with all of the great intentions to make a nice lasagna and salad, and serve with it with crusty garlic bread and then life happens and you get sidetracked and all of a sudden you have a big beautiful loaf of moldy bread in your pantry that&#8217;s never even been touched? *deep breath* Yeah, me neither. BUT, if you were the type of person (not me) that this happens to, you could totally switch gears, use your almost-old bread for this awesome casserole, and then be all like, &#8220;Yep, I meant to do that.  I totally needed day-old bread for this awesome french toast casserole.  Lasagna?  What lasagna??&#8221; 😉 Hope you love this as much as we do. Enjoy! &#160; Print Prep time 15 mins Cook time 40 mins Total time 55 mins &#160; As easy as it is delicious, this baked cinnamon french toast recipe is perfect for feeding a crowd, a lazy weekend breakfast, or even a make-ahead for a busy week. Enjoy! Serves: 12 servings Ingredients French toast: 1 loaf day-old crusty bread (like French or Sourdough) 8 whole eggs 1 cup milk (I use 2%) 1 and &#189; cups heavy cream &#190; cups sugar 2 Tablespoons vanilla extract 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon Topping: &#189; cup all-purpose flour &#189; cup packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon &#188; teaspoon salt 1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces Optional: Butter and Maple Syrup, for serving Instructions Cut bread into small (about 1 inch) cubes. Prepare a 9x13 baking dish by coating generously with butter. Place bread cubes into the baking dish. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk eggs. Add milk, heavy cream, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Whisk to combine. Pour the custard over the bread crumbs. Use your hands or a spoon to combine and coat each bread cube with the mixture. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 2 but up to 24 hours. Topping: In a small bowl, combine butter, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Use forks or a pastry cutter to combine until it forms a coarse (about pea-size) crumb. Cover the mixture and put it into the refrigerator until ready to use. Bake: When ready, preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F). Pour topping over the top of the french toast. If desired (I did) top with some chopped pecans or walnuts for an extra crunch. Bake for 35-50 minutes (ovens vary greatly) until desired consistency is reached - we like ours completely set up, and took it out of the oven at 40 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then serve warm with a generous pat of butter and maple syrup. Enjoy! 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Yellow Cake with Fudge Frosting</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/yellow-cake-fudge-frosting/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 02 Jan 2016 11:00:11 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Frosting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[frosting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fudge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[layer cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[party cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yellow cake]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5465</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I almost titled this post something like, &#8220;Back to Basics: Yellow Cake with Fudge Frosting,&#8221; but then I thought that it&#8217;s not really back to basics here. Good yellow cake is not an easy thing to accomplish, so while it is a bit of a basic cake, it&#8217;s definitely not an easy one. I&#8217;ve made a hundred different recipes and varieties of yellow cake over the years, some great, some not so much.  It&#8217;s been a good lesson in the science behind baking for me, and it turns out that a combination of my favorite recipes works best for me, so I feel like I&#8217;m finally ready to share it with all of you. So yes, yellow cake is a tough one to master.  The wrong combination of ingredients can result in a dry cake, a crumbly cake (usually good, but only if the cake is tender and moist, too.)  Or, the texture could be spot-on, but the flavors could be all off.  It&#8217;s tough.  And after bazillions of test-runs, I&#8217;ve come to the conclusion that I don&#8217;t like egg whites mixed into my yellow cake batter. Plain ol&#8217; egg yolks for me. Works every time. This cake is tender, moist (sorry for the m-word but it&#8217;s necessary here!) and it has a nice, bright vanilla flavor.  The fudge frosting is rich but not too sweet, so the combination of the frosting and the cake just work PERFECTLY together.  They combine into a silky, velvety texture, and the flavor combo is right where it should be. Plus, look at the frosting!  Doesn&#8217;t it just make you want to stick your finger right in the middle of it?  Check out my Instagram Video so you can see just how tempting it is.  So, so good you guys.  Get the milk ready. Wouldn&#8217;t this make the perfect &#8220;grown-up&#8221; birthday cake?  I would definitely NOT complain if someone made this for me for my birthday!  Those sprinkles on top are my very favorite sprinkles, from India Tree.  They&#8217;re delicate, pretty and actually taste good! Is there anything better than cutting into a cake and pulling out the first slice? Nope.  Didn&#8217;t think so. My best layer cake tips are pretty simple &#8211; there are just four of them.  First, I like to use 8-inch round, aluminum pans.  Light colored aluminum bakes much more evenly and prevents over-browning.  I never bake a cake anymore without a parchment circle in the bottom of the pan, and I always set my timer for at least 5-minutes before the recipe says it will be done.  I like to closely monitor the cakes in their last few minutes in the oven &#8211; an overbaked cake is a dry cake! Finally, when you are mixing and combining your ingredients, follow the recipe exactly.  If the recipe says to alternate wet and dry ingredients as you add them do the mixer &#8211; follow the recipe!  This will ALWAYS help the texture of your cake. Hope you love this one as much as we do.  It&#8217;s pretty darn easy, just make sure you have cake flour on hand and you&#8217;re ready to go! Enjoy! Yellow Cake with Fudge Frosting &#160; Print Prep time 30 mins Cook time 30 mins Total time 1 hour &#160; Serves: 12 servings Ingredients Cake: 3 cups sifted cake flour 3 and &#189; teaspoons baking powder &#189; teaspoon salt &#190; cup unsalted butter, room temperature 1 and &#8531; cups granulated white sugar 6 large egg yolks 1 cup milk 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract Frosting: 1 and &#189; cups (2 and &#189; sticks) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup powdered sugar &#190; cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder &#8539; teaspoon table salt &#190; cup light corn syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 8 ounces dark chocolate (semi or bittersweet) melted and cooled slightly Instructions Cakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees, (F). Prepare two 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray and parchement rounds. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft and creamy (about 1-2 minutes). Gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes). Add egg yolks, in two batches, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture (in three additions), and milk (in two additions), beginning and ending with the flour. Evenly divide the batter between the prepared pans, smoothing the tops with an offset spatula or back of a spoon. Bake 22 to 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake just comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in center. Place the cakes on a wire rack to cool, in their pans, for about 10 minutes. Then invert the cakes onto a greased rack. To prevent cracks, reinvert cakes so that tops are right side up. Cool completely before frosting. Frosting: Once cakes are completely cooled, prepare frosting. In a food processor, pulse butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add corn syrup and vanilla extract and process until combined about 5 to 10 seconds. Scrape sides of bowl, then add chocolate and pulse until smooth and creamy, about 10 to 15 seconds, or until completely smooth. Pour frosting into a large bowl, and use a rubber spatula to further combine if needed. Assemble cakes. Stack first layer, then top with about &#190; cup of frosting. Smooth to edges. Add next layer, and smooth a thin layer of frosting over the whole cake. Pour remaining frosting over the top of the cake and spread evenly over layers. Enjoy! 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>2015 Roundup</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/2015-roundup/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 31 Dec 2015 23:03:55 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[behind the scenes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[best of]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recipes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[roundup]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5483</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s been a great year here at Lemon Sugar.  Lots of new recipes, lots of new opportunities, the c-word (cookbook!) is floating around, and even though I had a busy year outside the blog, I still managed to keep it a priority and watch it grow. I can&#8217;t thank you all enough for your support, your comments, your likes, your pins, your tweets, your shares.  I know that you, as readers, have EVERYTHING to do with how successful I am here, and really &#8211; a MILLION times, THANK YOU from the very bottom of my heart. Please take a minute to check out my top recipes of 2015.  There are some good ones in here! Here&#8217;s to a GREAT 2016 for all of us!  I am so excited for the future of Lemon Sugar, and I can&#8217;t wait to see where it goes next.  CHEERS, and Happy New Year! xoxo, Erin]]></description>
		
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		<title>Chocolate Dipped Cannoli Cups</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/chocolate-dipped-cannoli-cups/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Dec 2015 23:15:06 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Appetizers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Party Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quick]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Summer Favorites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cannoli]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate chip]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[entertaining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fillo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[italian]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[party]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[phyllo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[powdered sugar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quick]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ricotta]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5453</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I don&#8217;t like to leave my house on New Year&#8217;s Eve.  I like to hunker down with my family, watch TV, eat some YUM food and make a cocktail or two with my husband.  The thought of venturing out and dealing with crowds just doesn&#8217;t do it for me anymore &#8211; although I&#8217;m not sure it ever did. I love to pick a bunch of one-bite appetizers and desserts for our evening, and these cannoli cups will definitely be on the list this year.  They are light, crispy, dipped in chocolate and I guarantee that they&#8217;ll disappear in no time. A traditional cannoli is made with a ricotta and cream filling and squeezed into a crisp pastry shell.  These make easy work of the complicated recipe with a sweetened ricotta filling piped into a chocolate dipped fillo shell.  Athens Mini Fillo Shells have come to the rescue again! I know you&#8217;re all aware of my love affair with Athens Mini Fillo Shells &#8211; remember the Jalapeno Popper Bites, the Apple Crumb Sundaes and the Cream Cheese and Pepper Jelly Shells?  They&#8217;re all delicious recipes and all are made easier with the help of Athens Mini Fillo Shells.  I love that you store them in the freezer and they&#8217;re ready to go in minutes. But this recipe &#8211; it might be my favorite yet.  The crispy shells are dipped in chocolate, the quick filling is piped in and they&#8217;re dusted with mini chips and powdered sugar.  The delightful crackle of the crisp shell isn&#8217;t lost when filled, dipped and refrigerated, so it&#8217;s a perfect make-ahead dessert. The filling isn&#8217;t too sweet, but it&#8217;s sweet enough that you know that it&#8217;s meant to be a dessert.  The bitterness of the chocolate cuts the creamines of the filling, and believe me, you are going to love the texture. The other bonus? These literally go together in a few minutes.  The shells bake for just about 5 minutes.  The chocolate takes about a minute to melt.  The filling is THREE ingredients, and you just have to stir it together.   I made the whole thing in 15 minutes today.  I also ate all of them in 15 minute. Ok, not really.  But I was totally on pace.  I stopped after two.  😉 Be sure to check out Athens Foods or Phyllo.com for more recipe ideas.  You can find these mini shells in the freezer section at your grocery store – I’d recommend buying extra and keeping them in your freezer for an unexpected party.  They really are lifesavers! Have you tried Fillo Shells before?  What is your favorite way to serve them?  Let me know, I’m always looking for new ideas! Enjoy! Chocolate Dipped Cannoli Cups &#160; Print Prep time 10 mins Cook time 5 mins Total time 15 mins &#160; Quick, easy and delicious, these mini fillo shell cannoli cups taste just like the real thing! Sure to be a hit with your guests! Serves: 30 shells Ingredients 2 boxes Athens Mini Fillo Shells (30 shells) 16 ounces whole-milk Ricotta Cheese &#190; cup confectioners sugar &#189; teaspoon vanilla extract 4 squares Chocolate Almond Bark &#189; cup mini chocolate chips &#188; cup confectioners sugar (for dusting) Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.) In a medium bowl, combine Ricotta Cheese, &#190; cup confectioners sugar and vanilla. Spoon mixture into a piping bag (or a plastic zipper bag) and refrigerate until ready to use. Don't snip the end off of the piping bag until you are ready to use it. Place Athens Mini Fillo Shells onto a baking sheet, and bake for 5 minutes or until completely heated through. Place Almond Bark into a microwave-safe bowl, and melt according to directions on package. Stir until smooth. Dip the top of each shell into the melted chocolate. Use a fork to help lift each one out of the chocolate and place on parchment or a wire cooling tray until chocolate hardens. Transfer dipped, hardened shells back to a baking sheet. Remove the filling from the refrigerator and snip a small end off the bag. Fill each shell with the ricotta mixture. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips and confectioners sugar. You can use a small mesh strainer to help dust the shells with sugar for an even, pretty look. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy! 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Loaded Baked Potato Quiche</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/loaded-baked-potato-quiche/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Dec 2015 16:00:02 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Appetizers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Garden]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pastry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Side Dishes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Weeknight]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bacon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cheese]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[potato]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[puff pastry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quiche]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[savory]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5363</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[So, we probably need to address my love for potatoes. I&#8217;m kind of obsessed.  Mashed Potatoes are probably my favorite food.  A baked potato topped with cottage cheese and pepper is my favorite go-to lunch.  I always have a ten pound bag of them in my pantry.  When I&#8217;ve had a bad day, my husband will cheer me up with his amazing smashed, buttered potatoes.  (Holy cow, delish.) So, when I saw a mini baked potato quiche at my local grocery store deli, I knew, just KNEW, that I had to replicate it at home. You. Guys.  This is a winner.  This quiche is full of all of the awesome toppings you might put on your baked potato &#8211; bacon, cheese and scallions.  I added some broccoli because I had it, and topped it with a dollop of sour cream, because it was just screaming for it. The crust is made simple with a puff-pastry sheet, so don&#8217;t let that deter you.  Grated potatoes, eggs, cream and your toppings get mixed together, and less than an hour later, you&#8217;ll have a quiche so delicious that you&#8217;ll wonder how you&#8217;ve survived without it this long. Seriously.  Amazing. And isn&#8217;t it pretty? My friends at The United States Potato Board have a fun website full of recipes, nutrition information, history, storage information and even the best ways to cook potatoes.    I am in love with the Potato Pizza recipe, and I&#8217;m planning to make this delicious-looking Totchos recipe this weekend !  There are a TON of recipes to browse through, so take a look &#8211; lots of great ideas. The USPB represents more than 2,500 growers and handlers across the country and they&#8217;ve been around since 1971, so they definitely know their stuff.  For instance, did you know that potatoes are a great source of potassium, vitamin C and fiber? If you&#8217;d like additional information, ideas and recipes, you can follow The United States Potato Board on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. You can enjoy this warm or cold, or even at room temperature.  I prefer mine warm, especially with the cool sour cream on top.  Don&#8217;t like bacon?  Just leave it out.  You can be creative with your add-ins, because as long as you follow the basic egg/half and half/potato proportions, you can do whatever you like! I hope you love this one.  Be sure to check out the USPB and tell them I sent you!  Enjoy! Loaded Baked Potato Quiche &#160; Print Prep time 15 mins Cook time 1 hour Total time 1 hour 15 mins &#160; This loaded baked potato quiche is hearty and delicious - full of potatoes, cheese and crumbled bacon, this is perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner! Enjoy! Serves: 8-12 servings Ingredients 1 puff pastry sheet for crust &#189; cup crumbled cooked bacon (about 6 to 8 slices) 1 and &#189; cups fresh broccoli florets, lightly steamed but still firm 10 ounces monterrey jack cheese, shredded 1 and &#189; cups shredded potatoes, freshly shredded in food processor 3 green onions, chopped, plus more for garnish if you like 5 large eggs 1 cup half and half 1 tsp ground black pepper Garnish with sour cream Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Peel potatos and shred, using a hand grater or a food processor. (Will need 1-2 potatoes, depending on size. Spray a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray or rub with butter. Roll puff pastry sheet so it is slightly bigger than your pie plate. Press into plate and crimp edges, and set aside. In a large bowl, beat eggs lightly. Dip a pastry brush into the beaten eggs, and brush the crust of the puff pastry with the egg. Add half and half, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine. To the egg mixture, add grated potatoes, bacon, green onions, broccoli and cheese. Stir to combine. Pour mixture into pie crust, and smooth into an even layer. Place into oven, and lay a sheet of aluminum foil lightly over the quiche to prevent over browning. Bake for 1 hour or until the middle is just set. Let cool slightly, and garnish with sour cream and green onion, if desired. Store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. May be served warm or cold, depending on preference. Enjoy! 3.2.2925 n size]]></description>
		
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		<title>Chocolate Dipped Holiday Cookies</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/chocolate-dipped-holiday-cookies/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Dec 2015 05:24:51 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Christmas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cookies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entertaining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Holiday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quick]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dipped]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[entertaining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quick and easy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sprinkles]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5401</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[ This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #NestleHolidayBaking #CollectiveBias My daughter had a couple of friends over last weekend to play for a few hours for a &#8220;BFF Gift Exchange,&#8221; and because she&#8217;s just like her mother, she wanted to decorate for her party and create a dessert table to display our cookie creations.  The girls had pizza for lunch and we made some chocolate covered cookies with fun decorations for dessert.  It&#8217;s a quick and easy recipe, and the girls love to help, but they REALLY love to eat it! Like I said, this is a super-easy recipe, and in fact, you only need four ingredients, three out of four of which were located on the same isle at my local Walmart.  The baking aisle is obviously my favorite isle in the store, and I love that I can find everything I need in one quick stop! As you can probably imagine, I am a big fan of the NESTLÉ® product line.  There are so many ways to use all of their ingredients &#8211; I think I could bake two recipes per day for a year and still not run out of ideas.  Beyond chocolate chip cookies, think ganaches, brownies, frostings, fillings&#8230;I could go on.  And during the holidays, it&#8217;s fun to incorporate their different options &#8211; the red and green morsels are adorable!  (And yum!)  This holiday season, NESTLÉ® has you covered and will make baking for friends and family even easier! The recipe requires NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk, NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Red and Green Morsels, NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chunks and NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Refrigerated Cookie Dough, I used the Holiday Chocolate Chip variety. Baking the cookies takes just about 10 minutes, and with my kids helping, we dipped and decorated all of the cookies in about 15 minutes &#8211; so including cooling time, we had some delicious treats ready for the party in less than an hour! Our dessert table for the party was simple but really adorable.  My girls helped, and we went with a bit of a rustic feel by using my barnwood table and backdrop.  I&#8217;ve done my fair share of dessert tables over the years, and I have a few tips: Keep it simple.  Start by planning the desserts you are making, and determine your layout based upon the number of desserts you have. Use white serving dishes when possible, it gives your table cohesiveness. Always use a backdrop, even if it&#8217;s just simple like this one. Have to-go boxes or bags ready for your guests! We always have tons of extra dessert, so I love to have take-out containers ready to go.  For this particular party, we made some adorable printables and simple sandwich bags to make a really cute package.  In fact, I have the printable here to share with you &#8211; just click on the picture below.  So cute! Want more recipes, tips and ideas?  Follow Nestle on Instagram and Facebook, and on Pinterest via two boards:  Flavorful Moments and Very Best Baking!  Good stuff!  I&#8217;d love to see your Nestle recipes on Pinterest &#8211; just tag me on Pinterest!  While you&#8217;re there, check out the Flavorful Moments board! To see a full list of Nestle products at Walmart, check out the Nestle Neighborhood.  And for a great collection of recipes, go to Very Best Baking.  And finally, for more printable ideas, head here. Hope you love this, enjoy! Easy Chocolate Dipped Cookies &#160; Print Prep time 5 mins Cook time 10 mins Total time 15 mins &#160; With the help of NESTLÉ®, these four-ingredient cookies go together quickly and easily! Serves: 40 cookies Ingredients 1 package NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Refrigerated Cookie Dough (choose your favorite variety) 1 package NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Red and Green Morsels 1 cup NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk 1 package NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chunks Instructions Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees (F.) Follow the directions on the cookie dough package to bake all of the cookies and allow them to cool completely. While the cookies are cooling, pour 1 cup of Evaporated Milk into a small glass bowl. Heat the Evaporated Milk in the microwave until steaming hot, but not boiling, about 90 seconds. Pour chocolate chunks into the hot milk, and allow to sit for 30 seconds. Use a small whisk to stir chocolate until completely incorporated. Dip each cookie into the chocolate, and place on a large sheet of parchment. Immediately sprinkle with red and green baking morsels. Allow the chocolate to set and harden before serving, about an hour. Place in refrigerator if needed. Enjoy! 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>#DoubleDigits:  A 10th Birthday Party</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/doubledigits-10th-birthday-party/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/doubledigits-10th-birthday-party/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 02 Dec 2015 05:48:01 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Entertaining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Party Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[10th birthday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[backdrop]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birthday party]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brownies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[decorations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[entertaining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[personal]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5379</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[So, Maddie turned 10 earlier this month. I only cried once.  Okay, maybe twice.  But even at that, I feel pretty good about myself.  That feels like an accomplishment. 10 years, you guys.  How do I have a kid that is 1o YEARS OLD??  She&#8217;s asking for iPhones and laptops and wants to redecorate her bedroom because it&#8217;s too babyish.  HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN? Oh, and the theme for her birthday party? Hashtag Double Digits. As in, #doubledigits. As in, my 10 YEAR OLD knows about hashtags and told me that if I used it enough her party might trend on Instagram. And then she asked me when she could have SnapChat and I lost it. Sigh. If you&#8217;ve been following along, you know that I love to throw parties and entertain, and I&#8217;ve been sharing my girls birthday parties with you all for about five years now.  You can find some of the others here. I always let the girls choose their theme, and we do our best to make it a fun party.  The girls help me with the decorating, and it&#8217;s fun (mostly) for all of us.  Since #doubledigits doesn&#8217;t have an obvious decor theme, Maddie chose bright colors, chevron and white backdrops. Her cake was her favorite chocolate layer cake with vanilla buttercream.  We added a chocolate ganache to the top and I loved the little bit of extra fudge it added to the frosting.  It was delish!  You can find the recipe here.  The adorable candles came from Sweet Shop Lulu, one of my favorite party suppliers.  I also got the cute little balloons, streamers in the backdrop, striped boxes and giant blue balloons from them.  Love! Over the years I&#8217;ve collected a lot of white platters, cake stands, and serving dishes for my parties &#8211; but my favorite find this year were the adorable mini cake stands from the discount aisle at Target.  They were $3 each.  SO cute when used in a grouping. One of the most fun thing about this party was that I partnered with Original New York Seltzer. Did you hear me?  ORIGINAL NEW YORK SELTZER IS BACK!  I spotted some at World Market a few weeks before the party, and I knew immediately that we needed to be BFF&#8217;s, so next thing I knew, they were the #officialdrink of Maddie&#8217;s #doubledigits party. Ok, I&#8217;m not 10, but the seltzer takes me back to when I was.  I have fantastic memories of ONYS from my childhood, and I was completely excited to see that they are back in production.  There are several flavors &#8211; and every single one of them was a huge hit.  My favorites are the Vanilla Cream Soda and Peach.  My uncle loved the Blueberry, and my girls are partial to the Root Beer. Plus, they have some pretty awesome apparel on their site, too. Original New York Seltzer is clean and refreshing, sweet and perfectly flavored.  If you&#8217;d like to learn more about them and find location to purchase some of your own, check them out on Facebook and Twitter.  They&#8217;re a SUPER fun company, and I encourage you to seek some out and give them a try. If it sounds like I&#8217;m gushing, it&#8217;s because I am.  I love the nostalgia, the fact that they haven&#8217;t changed the labels and the little glass bottles.  Love.  Love, love, love. Thank you to my friends at ONYS for contributing to a great party!  #thankyou One of my favorite tricks for my dessert tables and beverage tables is that you need to have some sort of back drop behind the table.  Most of us don&#8217;t have a clear wall, free of pictures that we are willing to mark up with push pins, tape or staples. So, in a stroke of genius (My world is small, folks.  This was pure genius for me.) I went to the basement and grabbed two big sheets of insulation.  They come in 4&#215;8 sheets, they&#8217;re relatively inexpensive, they&#8217;re light, and they&#8217;re easy to tuck away until the next time I need them. I cover them with wrapping paper, dollar-store tablecloths, fabric &#8211; whatever fits my needs at the time, and they work PERFECTLY.  And, you can tape/pin/staple whatever you like to them and no damage is done to your walls. See?  Genius. We make our banners with our Cricut machine, scrapbook paper and ribbon.  They take a bit of time, but I love how they personalize the party. Just want to say thank you again to Orignal New York Seltzer, and to my family for once again foregoing your lunch plans so you had enough room in your bellies for too much food and too many desserts. It&#8217;s what I do, I can&#8217;t help it. Happy Birthday, Madeline.  #loveyoubunches Back soon with a recipe!  Thanks for reading! xoxo, Erin]]></description>
		
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		<title>TUACA Mule and TUACA Root Beer Float</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/tuaca-mule-tuaca-root-beer-float/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/tuaca-mule-tuaca-root-beer-float/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Oct 2015 13:00:44 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adult beverage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[liqueur]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[moscow mule]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mule]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tuaca]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vanilla citrus]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5343</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of TUACA Vanilla Citrus Liqueur for IZEA . All opinions are 100% mine. Today&#8217;s post is sponsored by TUACA®.  Have you had it yet?  TUACA® is &#8221; a vanilla citrus liqueur, a brandy, blended with natural sugar, fine spirits and vanilla essences .&#8221;  Doesn&#8217;t that just SOUND amazing? You guys.  It&#8217;s fantastic.  And even better, it puts a delicious twist on one of my favorite drinks, the Moscow Mule.  Paired with ginger beer and lemon juice, it&#8217;s a totally refreshing fall drink. But, that&#8217;s not all.  TUACA® was also a key ingredient in my grown-up root beer float!   I love it, because it&#8217;s TOTALLY mixable and the vanilla undertones work well in so many different pairings. It&#8217;s a bit spicy, definitely refreshing, and gives my favorite drinks a warm and velvety feel. And, it finally pushed me over the edge to purchase some copper mugs.  Aren&#8217;t they perfect?  I wish it was acceptable to drink my  coffee out of them in the mornings, because I kind of love them. There&#8217;s something about my recent TUACA® discovery that has really expanded my horizons &#8211; it&#8217;s a very complex flavor, so experimenting was a lot of fun.  I knew the TUACA®Mule would be a home run, but honesty I was uncertain that the root beer float would work.  After one sip, I knew I was on to something and my innovations haven&#8217;t stopped since.  The vanilla citrus is totally versatile.  Crisp and refreshing?  Yup.  Warm and spiced?  Yup, that too. Over the weekend, the weather was warm, it was sunny and too warm for long sleeves. Tuaca Mule to the rescue!  Aren&#8217;t they pretty?  My husband and I both enjoyed ours out on the deck while watching leaves fall from the trees on a beautiful fall day.  Awesome. But then, just two days later the weather changed to rainy, breezy and cool.  So of course, the warm, spicy vanilla flavor was beckoning &#8211; and my beloved Kansas City Royals are playing the World Series&#8230;you see where this is going.  So, why not? I wanted a treat after dinner to go with the game. I keep saying this, but YOU GUYS. TUACA® root beer floats.  Wow. It was pretty delish.  I mean, look at it. I could go on, but what else is there to say?  Start with good ice cream, a good, creamy root beer and a splash of TUACA®.  And, a &#8220;little&#8221; whipped cream never hurt anyone, right? If you are as inspired as I am and want to give TUACA® a try, I&#8217;ve shared my recipes with you below.  Also, check out the TUACA® Pineapple Spritzer (link here: Tuaca y Pina ) and the TUACA® Hot Apple Pie (link here: Tuaca Hot Apple Pie ) . Both are fantastic.  Click HERE for a product locator for a store near you. Hope you love these, enjoy! TUACA Mule &#160; Print Prep time 5 mins Total time 5 mins &#160; TUACA® Mule - A fun twist on the classic Moscow Mule! A citrusy vanilla liqueur adds tons of great flavor to a classic cocktail. Serves: 1 mule Ingredients 2 ounces Tuaca Liqueur 4 ounces Ginger Beer Juice of &#189; lime Lime wedge, for garnish Instructions Fill a copper mug with ice. Squeeze &#189; lime juice over ice. Add Tuaca Liqueur. Top with Ginger Beer Stir carefully. Enjoy! 3.2.2925 TUACA Root Beer Float &#160; Print The Tuaca Root Beer Float is a frothy brown cocktail made from Tuaca Vanilla Citrus Liqueur, root beer and ice cream, and served in a parfait glass. Ingredients 1 and &#189; oz Tuaca Vanilla Citrus Liqueur Root Beer 1-2 scoops Ice Cream - vanilla Whipped Topping Instructions Add one or two scoops vanilla ice cream to a parfait glass. Add Tuaca vanilla citrus liqueur and add root beer without quite filling the glass. Top with whipped topping, and serve with a straw. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>Throwback Thursday: One Hour Maple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/throwback-thursday-one-hour-maple-pecan-cinnamon-rolls/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Oct 2015 13:00:36 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Bread]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Breakfast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Giveaway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Other Desserts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Slideshow]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bread recipe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[breakfast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cinnamon rolls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[icing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[maple]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pecan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quick]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yeast bread]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5337</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Hi everyone!  On Thursdays, I will be sharing some of my favorites from the archives of Lemon Sugar.  These are still my very favorite cinnamon rolls, ever and are one of my most-pinned recipes!  Wouldn&#8217;t these be great on a lazy daylight-saving morning? Enjoy! ♥ This is officially the third time I&#8217;ve used my One Hour Cinnamon Roll Dough on the blog.  There was the original, the Cherry Sweet Rolls, and now these. I think these win. These are Maple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls, and they&#8217;re fabulous. Oh yeah- and they can be made start to finish in an hour.  No big whoop. YES.  ONE HOUR.  CINNAMON ROLLS IN ONE HOUR, FOLKS! So today, we changed it up a bit &#8211; I added some sticky-sweet pecans to the filling, and doused the entire pan in a maple glaze.  The rolls soak up all of that glaze and with a nice big mug of hot coffee &#8211; not sure there&#8217;s anything better. I should make it known that this makes a LOT of HUGE cinnamon rolls &#8211; 24 rolls, to be precise.  And they&#8217;re all about five inches in diameter.  So yeah.  Big.  But really, that&#8217;s a very good thing because they go quickly.  My little family demolished half of them in a matter of minutes, and we wrapped up the rest for breakfast this week. Actually, I think we&#8217;re having chili tonight just because we have leftover cinnamon rolls, so they might not make it to breakfast.  Since we have a winter storm rolling in &#8211; I&#8217;m super excited to make a big pot of chili and hang out in my comfy clothes &#8211; and what goes better with comfy clothes, a snowstorm and a pot of chili than a warm cinnamon roll? Nuthin. These rolls go together in a snap &#8211; a large stand mixer will come in very handy, but a big bowl and a wooden spoon work too.  The dough is perfectly smooth, and thanks to the SIX TABLESPOONS of yeast, they rise in a snap.  They only have to rise once, and just for 20 minutes at that.  Try to find a nice warm, draft-free corner of your kitchen and cover them lightly with a tea-towel,and by the time you clean up your mess in the kitchen, the rolls will be ready to go in the oven.  While they&#8217;re baking, whip up your glaze, and in just another 20 minutes or so you&#8217;ll be stuffing your face with cinnamon rolls. It&#8217;s like, impossible not to.  Seriously. Hope you love these, and enjoy! Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet, make sure you stop by my Facebook page and follow along – you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!   ♥erin One Hour Maple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls &#160; Print Prep time 40 mins Cook time 20 mins &#160; Maple pecan cinnamon rolls in under an hour? You bet! A quick and easy recipe that's sure to please. Enjoy! Serves: 24 large cinnamon rolls Ingredients For dough: 3 and &#189; cups warm water (about 115 degrees F) &#190; cup sugar &#189; cup vegetable oil 6 Tablespoons Fleischmann’s Rapid Rise yeast 1 Tablespoon salt 3 eggs at room temperature 11 cups all-purpose flour For filling 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup white sugar 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted 1-2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon &#8531; cup Karo corn syrup (optional) 1 cup chopped pecans (optional) For glaze: 4 cups powdered/confectioners sugar &#189; cup half and half &#188; cup brewed coffee (or replace with milk if you don't like coffee flavor) &#190; stick (6 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted &#8539; teaspoon salt &#188; cup maple syrup Instructions For rolls: Prepare two large cookie sheets (half-sheet size) with parchment paper or silpat mats. Set aside. In a large bowl (I used my 6qt stand mixer), combine water, yeast, oil and sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes. Add eggs, flour and salt, and mix for 10 minutes. I used the dough hook on my stand mixer. You can also do this by hand, with a wooden spoon until it all comes together, and then a kneading motion for the rest of the time. Pour dough onto a floured surface, and knead until dough is soft, smooth and not too sticky. Only add additional flour if it's unworkable and sticking to the surface and your hands. Roll dough into a large rectangle, approximately 18x26 inches. Filling and Assembly: In a small bowl, stir together pecan pieces and Karo Syrup. Set aside. Spread melted butter over the top of the dough. Then, top with brown sugar, white sugar and cinnamon. Spoon pecans over dough, and spread slightly. Roll the dough into a log. Cut into 24 1-inch pieces. Place rolls on to prepared cookie sheets. Cover them with clean towels and set aside to rise for 20 minutes in a warm, draft-free spot. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees (F). Bake for 12-20 minutes or until golden brown. {The original recipe called for just 10-12 minutes, but I had to bake mine for 20 minutes and they were perfect.} For glaze: Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Stir or whisk until smooth. Pour glaze over rolls as soon as they come out of the oven. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>Butterfinger Cheesecake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/butterfinger-cheesecake/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 26 Oct 2015 03:56:47 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Candy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cheesecake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Halloween]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Peanut Butter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Butterfinger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[butterfinger cheesecake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[candy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cheesecake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cheesecake recipe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cookie dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[halloween]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oreo]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5279</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[This post has been sponsored by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ReinventSweet #CollectiveBias I might be a wee-bit obsessed.  With cheesecake, of all things. Which, actually is a GOOOOOD thing, but really, why can&#8217;t I be obsessed with Kale?  Or Flax Seed?  Or Chickpeas?  (I don&#8217;t know &#8211; those are the first three healthy-like things that popped into my cheesecake-obsessed head.) This cheesecake, you guys &#8211; it&#8217;s awesome.  It&#8217;s easy.  It goes together in no time, and you can change it up with your favorite add-ins, toppings, and crust.  Today, it happens to be a chocolate cookie crust, chocolate fudge topping, and BUTTERFINGER® mix-ins. Let&#8217;s just pause for a moment and let that sink in. &#8230; Folks, Halloween is right around the corner.  Time to hoard those BUTTERFINGER® bars! Speaking of Halloween, this recipe is actually just perfect for your spooky festivities. It&#8217;s a given that my candy dish is always full of BUTTERFINGER® bars on Halloween, but when your guests see a  BUTTERFINGER® cheesecake, you won&#8217;t even have to wear a super hero costume.  You will instantly be upgraded to super-hero status, no cape required. BUTTERFINGER® has a new product &#8211; BUTTERFINGER® Peanut Butter Cup Minis &#8211; and when I found them at Wal-Mart last week, the wheels were already turning.  They&#8217;re soft, so I knew they&#8217;d be a perfect mix-in for my favorite cheesecake recipe. I opted for a chocolate cookie crust to balance out the overall flavor, and it&#8217;s great.  Super-hero great. When I got home, loaded up with tons of BUTTERFINGER® products, I immediately went to check out their Pinterest page for more ideas,  and there are some good ones!  In fact, my Butterfinger Poke Cake was right on top! Back to the cheesecake for a moment &#8211; don&#8217;t forget my cheesecake tips: First, use a really good quality springform pan.  This will help prevent leaks and a soggy crust.  Second, don&#8217;t overbeat your batter.  Too much air in your batter = cracked cheesecake.  Drop it on the countertop a few times to pop the bubbles in the batter before you pop it in the oven. And finally, don&#8217;t open your oven door while it&#8217;s baking.  Let it do its thang, and you&#8217;ll be rewarded with a beautiful cake when 90 minutes is up. Easy as pie.  Er, cheesecake.  Whatever, you&#8217;re a super-hero, so you got this. Be sure to check out more delicious Butterfinger recipes on the Butterfinger Pinterest page. I&#8217;d love to hear about your favorite way to enjoy Butterfingers in a recipe!  And, you can earn $1 with Ibotta Offer! Hope you love this one guys!  Back soon with more! Butterfinger Cheesecake &#160; Print Prep time 2 hours Cook time 90 mins Total time 3 hours 30 mins &#160; My favorite cheesecake is easy to make your own with mix-ins, toppings and a chocolate crust. A chocolate cookie crust with BUTTERFINGER® Peanut Butter Cup Minis and hot fudge topping, this version is definitely a winner. Serves: 12 servings Ingredients Crust: 24 Chocolate Sandwich Cookies &#188; cup unsalted butter, melted Filling: 4 (8-ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened &#190; cup granulated sugar 2 Tablespoons corn starch 2 eggs at room temperature &#189; cup sour cream at room temperature &#190; cup heavy cream 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 bag (8 ounces) BUTTERFINGER® Peanut Butter Cup Minis Topping: 10 oz hot fudge topping, warmed 5-6 BUTTERFINGER® Fun-Size, roughly chopped Instructions Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Prepare a 9-inch spring form pan with cooking spray or butter. To prevent water seepage, wrap the spring form pan in heavy-duty aluminum foil. I use two layers of extra-large sheets. Place spring form pan into a large roasting pan, and set aside. In a food processor, pulse sandwich cookies until finely ground. Add melted butter, and pulse until completely combined. Pour mixture into the springform pan, and use the bottom of a glass to press the mixture into the bottom of the pan in an even layer - do not come up the sides with this crust. Set aside. In the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large bowl with a handheld mixer) beat cream cheese with your paddle attachment until smooth and creamy. Add cornstarch, and beat to combine. Add sugar, and beat until completely incorporated. Add eggs, one at a time, beating completely after each addition. Add vanilla, sour cream and whipping cream, and beat until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl at least once. Chop the BUTTERFINGER® Peanut Butter Cup Minis and fold gently into the batter. Pour batter into the prepared springform pan. Drop the filled cheesecake firmly on to your countertop several times to release any air bubbles. Return the springform pan to the roasting pan. Place the roasting pan, with wrapped springform pan inside, into preheated oven. Fill the roasting pan with water, until halfway up the springform pan. Work quickly, so you don't release too much heat from the oven. Bake for 90 minutes. DO NOT open the door during baking. Remove cake from roasting pan, and allow to cool for 30 minutes on a wire rack. After 30 minutes, run a thin knife around the outside of the crust to release from the sides. This will help prevent cracking. Cool for another 30 minutes on a wire rack, then lightly cover and move to the refrigerator. Continue to cool for at least 4 hours, but ideally overnight. Before serving, top the cheesecake with warmed hot fudge sauce. Sprinkle chopped BUTTERFINGER® Fun-Size over the top of the cheesecake, and as a garnish around the outside edge of the cake. Enjoy! 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Mini Pumpkin Loaves</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/mini-pumpkin-loaves/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/mini-pumpkin-loaves/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Oct 2015 03:33:39 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cinnamon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pumpkin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fall dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pumpkin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pumpkin bread]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quick bread]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thanksgiving dessert]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5264</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I definitely love a good pumpkin recipe &#8211; and not just in the fall.  I could eat them year-round.  I&#8217;m not a huge PSL fan &#8211; so I usually indulge in one Pumpkin Spice Latte a year &#8211; but they are just a bit sweet for me.  But, a grande drip with a slice of pumpkin bread?  Sign. Me. Up. The great thing about this recipe is that it is SUPER EASY.  I&#8217;ve updated the method a little bit to combine wet and dry ingredients, but the original, bent-up card in my cookbook is just a one-bowl, mix and pour recipe.  Either, way, I love that this goes together in minutes. I rarely use my mini-loaf pan, but it&#8217;s definitely handy for treats like this &#8211; because they&#8217;re small enough that they make perfect individual treats. These actually remind me a lot of my favorite Pumpkin Kisses Muffins &#8211; little bits of candies and a super moist cake &#8211; they&#8217;re just missing the streusel topping.  I love the look of the oat topping on these, but I gotta say, that sugary crumb topping on the muffins would be FANTASTIC on these. A couple of tips to be aware of &#8211; first, make sure you toss your white chocolate chips in a bit of flour before folding them into the batter.  This prevents the chips from sinking to the bottom of your well. Make sure you coat the loaf pan completely with cooking spray.  Mine still stuck just a little bit thanks to the white chocolate, so it might not be a bad idea to line each well with parchment paper, too. Finally, when these come out of the oven, let them sit in the pan for about 10 minutes before you try to take them out.  If the tops of your loaves expand over the edge of the pan, you can use a butter knife to kind of &#8220;tuck&#8221; the edges back into the pan.  Works like a charm &#8211; just do it when the loaves are still warm. My girls gobbled these up in less than 24 hours &#8211; I think these were breakfast, snacks and dessert for a whole day.  Definitely a winner around here. Hope you love them as much as we did! Enjoy!]]></description>
		
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		<title>Applesauce Doughnut Holes</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/applesauce-doughnut-holes-2/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/applesauce-doughnut-holes-2/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Oct 2015 02:21:37 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Breakfast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Doughnuts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Other Desserts]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5257</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Hi everyone!  On Thursdays, I will be sharing some of my favorites from the archives from Lemon Sugar.  These Applesauce Doughnut Holes have remained very popular since I first posted them years ago. They just scream autumn! Enjoy! ♥ Ok, I promise I&#8217;ll get off the fall-flavor train soon. Yeah, not really.  I can&#8217;t promise that at all.  I know there are some of you out there who aren&#8217;t into pumpkin, apple and cinnamon EVERYTHING, but I can&#8217;t help myself.  I am very into pumpkin, apple and cinnamon everything. I&#8217;ll try to mix it up a bit.  However,  you should know that I still have 14 cans of pumpkin puree in my pantry, so I&#8217;m probably not going to keep my word on this one.   At least for a while.  But I&#8217;ll try.  Kind of. The good news, for some of you, is that there isn&#8217;t a drop of pumpkin in these doughnuts.  Apple and cinnamon, yes.  But no pumpkin. Baby steps. Seriously, who am I kidding?  I would&#8217;ve put pumpkin in these if I were thinking straight. I&#8217;m usually not one to fry much of anything, but the thought of a soft, cinnamon and apple doughnut with a slight crisp to the outer, sugar-coated layer?  I couldn&#8217;t leave it alone.  These are fantastic at any temperature, but warm, fresh doughnut holes are where.  it&#8217;s.  at. Can you imagine indulging in a couple of these with a big old mug of coffee?  I can.  &#8216;Cause I did it. If you&#8217;re looking for an easy doughnut recipe, you&#8217;ve found it.  No special tools are needed, except perhaps a thermometer to gauge the temperature of the oil.  If you don&#8217;t have a thermometer, heat the oil for about 10 minutes over medium heat, and you should be at the right temperature.  If the oil is too hot, the middle of the doughnut won&#8217;t cook and the outside will burn.  If it&#8217;s too low, they&#8217;ll get greasy and absorb all of the oil, so you can tell when you&#8217;re in the right spot.  They should cook in about 3-4 minutes, be dark golden brown on the outside, and soft and tender on the inside. Let them drain on a cookie sheet lined with a paper towel and a wire cooling rack, if you have one.  Roll them when they&#8217;re warm (but not hot) in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, and then try not to eat them all yourself. If you aren&#8217;t into the cinnamon-sugar coating, you can try a powdered sugar glaze, too.  This recipe makes between 24 and 36 doughnut holes, depending on the size of your scoop, so you can store the leftovers in an airtight container for a couple of days. Hope you love this as much as we did. Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet, make sure you stop by my Facebook page and follow along – you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!  Leave me a comment below so I know you were here! ♥erin Applesauce Doughnuts &#160; Print Prep time 15 mins Cook time 15 mins Total time 30 mins &#160; Warm fall flavors of apples, cinnamon and cloves come together in these easy, no-yeast doughnut holes. Recipe source: Lulu the Baker Serves: Approx 24-36 doughnut holes Ingredients Doughnuts: 2-3 inches oil for frying 2 and &#188; cups all-purpose flour 1 and &#189; teaspoons baking powder &#189; teaspoon baking soda &#189; teaspoon cinnamon &#189; teaspoon nutmeg &#188; teaspoon ground cloves &#189; teaspoon salt &#189; cup sugar &#188; cup packed brown sugar 2 eggs 2 Tablespoons vegetable/canola oil &#188; cup milk 1 cup unsweetened applesauce &#189; teaspoon vanilla extract For cinnamon sugar: &#189; cup sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon Instructions Fill a large heavy saucepan with 2-3 inches of oil. Heat to 360 degrees (F) using a candy or instant-read thermometer to monitor temperature. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. In a larger bowl, beat together white sugar, brown sugar and eggs until pale and just slightly foamy. Beat in 2 Tablespoons oil. Add half of the flour mixture, and beat until just incorporated. Add milk, and beat until just combined. Add remaining flour and again beat until just incorporated. Stir in applesauce and vanilla beat until just combined. Using a small scoop or Tablespoon, carefully drop the batter into the hot oil, 6-8 at a time. Fry for about 3 minutes, turning once with tongs half-way through, monitoring temperature of oil then whole time. Remove to a paper towel to drain and cool. Combine cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl, and individually roll each doughnut in cinnamon sugar. Best served slightly warm, but otherwise keep in an airtight container for up to 48 hours. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>Sugar Cream Pie</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/sugar-cream-pie/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/sugar-cream-pie/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Oct 2015 00:27:29 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Christmas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Holiday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[butter pie crust]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cream]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[half and half]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[holiday pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[no chill pie crust]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nutmeg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pie crust]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sugar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sugar cream pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vanilla]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5241</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Sugar.  Cream.  Pie. Okay you guys, help me with this.  Who was like, &#8220;I&#8217;m gonna mix up some sugar and some cream and bake it all up in a pie?&#8221;  Who thinks that way? (Ok, maybe I do.  A little bit.) Seriously, this is just what it sounds like.  Sugar and cream in a pie crust.  And it&#8217;s fantastic.  Oh, just a custard pie, right?  I know what you&#8217;re thinking.  But it&#8217;s not. There are no eggs in this pie!  It is literally baked cream.  Did I mention how fantastic it is yet? It&#8217;s creamy and milky and sweet and topped with just a touch of nutmeg &#8211; which to me, makes it taste a bit like egg nog &#8211; but there are NO eggs. I&#8217;m not sure why this is so strange to me. I&#8217;m also not sure why this is the first time I&#8217;ve made a sugar cream pie.  I LOVED my Grandma&#8217;s custard pie, so I&#8217;ve been curious about the difference between the two for a while now.  And, now I know. It&#8217;s really a texture difference.  It&#8217;s, like I said, very creamy &#8211; but almost has a sticky consistency.  I know that doesn&#8217;t sound terribly appetizing, but I don&#8217;t mean it&#8217;s sticky in a bad way, I mean it&#8217;s sticky in a GOOD way.  Have you ever had a Banofee pie?  This is pretty much the same deal. Also &#8211; I love this pie cold, right out of the fridge.  And whipped cream doesn&#8217;t hurt one little bit. In my recipe research, I saw many variations on the topping.  I opted for a very light sprinkle of freshly grated nutmeg, but I saw tons of other options, too, such as bruleed sugar, cinnamon, cinnamon and sugar under the broiler, and even caramel sauce. Gotta say though, I loved the nutmeg and whipped cream.  I&#8217;m not sure I have any desire to try it another way.  (But I&#8217;m also the girl that orders the same thing in restaurants, too.  Once I find something I like, I stick with it.) The trickiest part about this pie happens to be the crust.  I found that it&#8217;s pretty difficult to keep the crust from over-browning, but I came up with a tip or two that might help. First, lower your baking rack to the lower 1/3 of your oven.  When you bake the pie, place the pie dish on a light-aluminum cookie sheet to prevent the bottom from over-browning.  Then, tent the pie with a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil.  My pie shield didn&#8217;t work well &#8211; the foil definitely gave me a better result. Brush your pie crust with a bit of milk or egg white mixed with water.  It gives it a pretty, glossy appearance. So good.  All of it. I hope you love it.  Enjoy! Sugar Cream Pie &#160; Print Prep time 30 mins Cook time 90 mins Total time 2 hours &#160; This eggless custard pie is really something special. Creamy and rich, this is a decadent treat for truly special occasions. Enjoy! Recipe source: Adapted from Saveur, Indiana Sugar Cream Pie Serves: 12 servings Ingredients Pie dough: 1 and &#188; cups all-purpose flour 1 Tablespoon sugar &#188; teaspoon salt 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, very cold 5-6 Tablespoons ice water Filling 1 and &#188; cups sugar 1⁄2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 and &#188; cups half-and-half 1 and &#188; cups heavy cream 1 and &#189; teaspoons vanilla extract About 1 Tablespoon sugar, to garnish Freshly grated nutmeg, to garnish Instructions Pie dough: Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Quickly cut butter into small cubes, and add to flour mixture. Work quickly so the butter stays very cold. Using a fork or a pastry cutter, cut in butter to small pea size. Add water a tablespoon at a time just until dough pulls together. Remove the ball of dough from the bowl, and flatten it into a disc. Lightly flour surface. Flatten disk with 6-8 taps of the rolling pin. Roll dough, and after every roll, lift dough give &#188; turn. Roll into a 12 inch circle. Once rolled, use the rolling pin to roll up the dough and transfer it to a pie plate. Unroll the dough, trim the edges and crimp as desired. Line the dough with a sheet of parchment paper and fill the pie dish with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the crust begins to just turn brown at the edge, about 15 minutes. Transfer the pie dish to a cooling rack, and remove the paper and weights. Prepare filling. Filling: In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar with the flour, and then stir in the half-and-half, cream, and vanilla. Pour the cream into the pie crust, and sprinkle the top of the cream with sugar. Bake until the filling is lightly set but jiggles when tapped on the side, 1 hour and 30 minutes. (Oven will remain at 375 degrees (F). Use foil or a pie-crust shield to prevent over-browning of the crust. I just tent my pie with foil the entire time it's in the oven. Transfer the pie to a rack and let cool completely. Grate nutmeg over the top just before serving. 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Pumpkin Crumb Cake: A Throwback</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/pumpkin-crumb-cake-throwback/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/pumpkin-crumb-cake-throwback/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Oct 2015 20:32:13 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pumpkin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thanksiving]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[autumn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brown sugar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cinnamon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crumb topping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fall food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pumpkin bread]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5232</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Hi everyone!  Starting today (!) I am going to use Thursdays to bring back some of my favorites from the archives from Lemon Sugar.  This Pumpkin Crumb Cake is still a favorite of ours, and I haven&#8217;t tweaked the recipe a bit.  Do yourself a favor and make this, STAT!  Enjoy! ♥   So yeah, this is another pumpkin cake.  And yeah, I thought I had sworn off pumpkin recipes for at least a week or two, but as it turns out I was pretty much completely wrong. Pumpkin does that to you.  It has magical powers. Did you know I met someone last week who said they didn&#8217;t like pumpkin?  And I was like, &#8220;REALLY?!?!?&#8221;  And they were like, well, I&#8217;ve never really tried it.  And then I was like, &#8220;Oh.&#8221;  And then there was an awkward silence. Ok, if you don&#8217;t like pumpkin, that&#8217;s totally fine. People think I&#8217;m weird because I don&#8217;t like seafood.  But don&#8217;t go around hatin&#8217; on pumpkin when you haven&#8217;t even tried it.  (Lady at Starbucks, I&#8217;m talking to YOU.) I have a rule with my kids.  It&#8217;s ok if you don&#8217;t like it, but you have to at least try it once.  I should&#8217;ve told that lady about my rule.  But I suppose that crosses the &#8220;don&#8217;t Mother complete strangers in the line at Starbucks&#8221; rule that I&#8217;ve tried so hard to follow over the past few years.  (&#8216;Cause seriously, some of those people need some mothering. Like, don&#8217;t cut in line.  Be polite to the people making your coffee.  Don&#8217;t talk on your cell phone at top volume and then wonder why everyone has judgey-eyes aimed directly at YOU.) Anyway, cake.  Magical pumpkin crumb cake, to be precise.  Let&#8217;s talk about that. This is a perfectly lovely pumpkin cake.  While the crumb topping does require one extra step to make, this is basically a quick-bread recipe and goes together pretty quickly.  A food processor makes easy work of the crumb topping, but you can totally use a pastry cutter or even a couple of forks to make it if you don&#8217;t have one. It also makes a nice, manageable cake size.  Using an 8&#215;8 pan makes the perfect amount for my little family, and it allows us all to have a piece or two without wasting a whole cake.  My husband drizzled homemade caramel sauce over the top of his cake, but it would also be great with a little bit of a powdered sugar glaze drizzled over the top if you want a little something extra. Personally, I liked it just the way it is, super moist and flavorful and LOADED with sweet crumb topping. Confession:  I increased the amount of the crumb topping from the original recipe by an additional 50%.  I really like crumb topping.  You will, too.  (And if you don&#8217;t, it&#8217;s ok, but you have to at least try it first.) I hope you love it as much as we did.  Enjoy! Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet, make sure you stop by my Facebook page and follow along – you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!  Leave me a comment below so I know you were here! ♥erin Pumpkin Crumb Cake &#160; Print Prep time 15 mins Cook time 60 mins Total time 1 hour 30 mins &#160; This perfectly moist pumpkin cake is topped with an extra thick crumb topping. This pumpkin crumb cake makes the perfect fall dessert. Enjoy! Recipe source: Mommy? I'm Hungry! Serves: 12 servings, or 1 8x8 cake Ingredients Cake: 1 and &#190; cups all-purpose flour 1 and &#189; teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder &#190; teaspoon salt &#189; cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened 1 and &#188; cups sugar 3 large eggs 1 cup canned pureed pumpkin 1 teaspoon vanilla extract &#8531; cup milk Crumb Topping: 1 cup plus 3 Tablespoons rolled oats &#190; cup all-purpose flour &#190; cup firmly packed light brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon &#189; cup plus 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Prepare an 8x8 square baking pan with cooking spray, then line with parchment paper so that the parchment paper hangs over two sides (to act as handles.) For topping, in a food processor (you can also do this with a pastry cutter or two forks) combine 1 cup of oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon and butter. Pulse several times until the butter is crumbly. Stir in the remaining 3 Tablespoons of oats, and set aside. For the cake, sift the flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the pumpkin and vanilla extract, and beat until just combined. Add the flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Add the milk, and beat until just combined. Pour batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top. Pour the crumb topping over the batter. Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. (Mine took 1 hour and 10 minutes) Allow to cool in pan for 20 minutes, then use the flaps of parchment to remove from the pan to cool completely. Cut and serve, and enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<item>
		<title>Jalapeno Popper Fillo Bites</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/jalapeno-popper-fillo-bites/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Oct 2015 02:50:39 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Appetizers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entertaining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Party Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Side Dishes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[appetizer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[game day]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[jalapeno]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[jalepeno popper]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[party]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quick]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5222</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Game Day! Doesn&#8217;t it seem like every day this time of year is spent prepping for, planning for, looking forward to or participating in some sort of game day? Whether it&#8217;s your kids, your favorite team (Go Royals!) or just an excuse for a social gathering, there is just always something going on.  If you happen to be hosting or attending a game-day gathering soon, this recipe MUST be on your radar! I&#8217;ve raved before about Athens Mini Fillo Shells.  They really are lifesavers!  I love to turn my favorite recipes into mini appetizers usings these little gems.  I love a good Jalapeno Popper Dip, so I thought they would make the perfect mini fillo bite. I happened to be right. on. These are FANTASTIC! Using a traditional jalapeno dip recipe as the filling, I topped them with panko and shredded parmesan cheese.  A mandolin-thin slice of raw jalapeno adds a touch of color and and makes these oh-so-pretty. But the best part?  These are a start-to-finish 30 minute recipe, baby! The fillo shells are light and crispy, a perfect little bowl for the spicy filling.  If you have any jalapeno lovers in your life, you are going to be seriously popular with this one.  They are literally bite-size, so a tray of 30 appetizers will be gone in no time! If you are super-organized and really want to be on your game, you can make these in advance.  Save the topping and sprinkle it on right before you put it in the oven so it crisps up nicely &#8211; but the rest of the recipe can be prepped the night before and stored in an airtight container. So easy, and why I love my Athens Mini Fillo Shells! Be sure to check out Athens Foods or Phyllo.com for more recipe ideas.  You can find these mini shells in the freezer section at your grocery store – I’d recommend buying extra and keeping them in your freezer for an unexpected party.  They really are lifesavers! Have you tried Fillo Shells before?  What is your favorite way to serve them?  Let me know, I’m always looking for new ideas! Enjoy! Jalapeno Popper Fillo Bites &#160; Print Prep time 10 mins Cook time 15 mins Total time 25 mins &#160; Super quick and easy, this recipe is a fun take on a traditional jalapeno popper. You can even prep the fillo shells and filling in advance, and just pop them in the oven when your guests arrive. Enjoy! Serves: 30 shells Ingredients 2 boxes Athens Mini Fillo Shells (30 shells) 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature &#189; cup mayonnaise &#189; cup cheddar cheese, shredded &#189; cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated 1 (4 ounce) can sliced jalapenos (pickled), drained 2 jalapeno peppers, finely sliced with mandolin (garnish) &#188; cup panko bread crumbs &#188; cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Remove Athens Mini Fillo Shells from packaging, and transfer to a large baking sheet. Set aside. With an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, cheddar cheese, parmigiano reggiano and jalapenos in a large bowl. Spoon about a Tablespoon of the mixture into each Fillo Shell. Don't over fill. Mix the panko bread crumbs and parmigiano reggiano and sprinkle over the top of each shell. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until filling begins to bubble and cheese topping turns a light golden brown. Meanwhile, thinly slice two raw jalapenos for garnish. (I used my handheld mandolin.) Remove shells from the oven and immediately garnish with a thinly sliced jalapeno. Cool slightly and enjoy! 3.2.2925      ]]></description>
		
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		<title>S&#8217;mores Cheesecake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/smores-cheesecake/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/smores-cheesecake/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Sep 2015 03:48:57 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cheesecake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured Center]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cheesecake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[graham cracker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marshmallow]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[s'mores]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5204</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Oh, heeyyy! It&#8217;s been a few days, no?  Don&#8217;t worry, pretties.  I&#8217;ve been a-ok.  Me and my s&#8217;mores cheesecake &#8211; we&#8217;ve been juuuuust fine.  Oh, and also &#8211; let&#8217;s address this right up front &#8211; did you know that my husband isn&#8217;t a &#8220;big cheesecake fan?&#8221; Like, WHAT? He just CASUALLY mentioned that to me in passing tonight.  How is that even possible?  Cheesecake is pretty much what life is about, right?  Buttery graham cracker crust, thick and creamy filling?  How can he not L-O-V-E cheesecake? In fact, I&#8217;m pretty sure there was something in our wedding vows about cheesecake.  Well, maybe not, but there should have been &#8211; an omission by blissful ignorance. &#8216;Cause really, who would even think that there might be someone out there who isn&#8217;t a &#8220;big cheesecake fan?&#8221; WHAT IS WRONG WITH MY HUSBAND?!? Ok.  Maybe I&#8217;m overreacting just a smidge. But still.  Honestly.  #cheesecake4eva Anyway, this is a variation of my very favorite cheesecake recipe.   In fact, I made the original for you yesterday so I can show you my favorite basic cheesecake &#8211; and then you can alter it and fancy it up however you like. Now, I do have to add a bit of a disclaimer &#8211; I definitely am #teamcrumblycheesecake.  I don&#8217;t care much for super creamy cheesecake &#8211; I like what I call the &#8220;Cheesecake Factory&#8221; style of cheesecake.  Thick, dense, slightly crumbly and very sturdy. This s&#8217;mores version was really a no-brainer, and the addition of chocolate and toasted marshmallows works nicely.  And, it really tastes like a s&#8217;more! It&#8217;s a perfect fall dessert, and who does&#8217;t love a toasted marshmallow? Hm.  Probably my husband.  I should ask &#8211; you know, in case he has any other classic, delicious dessert aversions.  😉 Anyway. Ok, a few cheesecake tips, if you will &#8211; first, use a really good quality springform pan.  This will help prevent leaks and a soggy crust.  Second, don&#8217;t overbeat your batter.  Too much air in your batter = cracked cheesecake.  Drop it on the countertop a few times to pop the bubbles in the batter before you pop it in the oven. And finally, don&#8217;t open your oven door while it&#8217;s baking.  Let it do its thang, and you&#8217;ll be rewarded with a beautiful cake when 90 minutes is up. Hope you love it &#8211; I&#8217;ll be back in a couple of days with more tips and tricks for a perfect cheesecake! Enjoy!   S'mores Cheesecake &#160; Print Prep time 30 mins Cook time 90 mins Total time 2 hours &#160; This perfect cheesecake recipe is embellished with your favorite campout accessories - chocolate and toasted marshmallow! This S'mores cheesecake will take you straight to the great outdoors! Recipe adapted from: Will Cook for Smiles Serves: 12 servings Ingredients Crust: 1 and &#189; cups graham cracker crumbs &#189; cup brown sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted Filling: 4 (8-ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened &#190; cup granulated sugar 2 Tablespoons corn starch 2 eggs at room temperature &#189; cup sour cream at room temperature &#190; cup heavy cream 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Topping: 10 oz hot fudge topping, warmed 2 cups marshmallows Instructions Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Prepare a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray or butter. To prevent water seepage, wrap the springform pan in heavy-duty aluminum foil. I use two layers of extra-large sheets. Place springform pan into a large roasting pan, and set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and brown sugar. Add vanilla and melted butter, and stir until completely moistened. Pour mixture into the springform pan, and use the bottom of a glass to press the mixture into the bottom of the pan in an even layer - do not come up the sides with this crust. Set aside. In the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large bowl with a handheld mixer) beat cream cheese with your paddle attachment until smooth and creamy. Add cornstarch, and beat to combine. Add sugar, and beat until completely incorporated. Add eggs, one at a time, beating completely after each addition. Add vanilla, sour cream and whipping cream, and beat until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl at least once. Pour batter into the prepared springform pan. Drop the filled cheesecake firmly on to your countertop several times to release any air bubbles. Return the springform pan to the roasting pan. Place the roasting pan, with wrapped springform pan inside, into preheated oven. Fill the roasting pan with water, until halfway up the springform pan. Work quickly, so you don't release too much heat from the oven. Bake for 90 minutes. DO NOT open the door during baking. Remove cake from roasting pan, and allow to cool for 30 minutes on a wire rack. After 30 minutes, run a thin knife around the outside of the crust to release from the sides. This will help prevent cracking. Cool for another 30 minutes on a wire rack, then lightly cover and move to the refrigerator. Continue to cool for at least 4 hours, but ideally overnight. Before serving, top the cheesecake with warmed hot fudge sauce. Top with marshmallows. Use a kitchen torch or your oven broiler to brown the tops. NOTE: broiler will take only a few seconds, don't walk away. Enjoy! 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>American Kitchen Stories</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/american-kitchen-stories-2/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/american-kitchen-stories-2/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2015 03:28:12 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Giveaway]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5186</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[There&#8217;s just something magical about the kitchen.  Since following GE Appliances&#8216; Our American Kitchen stories, I&#8217;ve been really aware of how important the kitchen is in the American family life.  Just tonight, my extended family (all 20 of us) were jammed into my parent&#8217;s kitchen for Sunday dinner.  This morning, my girls woke me up begging for our Sunday morning waffle breakfast.  Last night, my girlfriends and I gathered in a friend&#8217;s new kitchen over appetizers and cocktails. There&#8217;s something about a kitchen.  I thought maybe it was the food, but I don&#8217;t think it is.  I think it&#8217;s about ritual, comfort, family&#8230; when I wake up in the morning, I head to the kitchen.  Before I go to bed at night, I tidy up the kitchen and start the dishwasher.  The hum of the dishwasher is familiar, soothing, and just sounds like home.  A dishwasher makes me feel that way, you guys! But there&#8217;s more.   My blog was born in my kitchen.   Weeknight family dinners of simple meals like spaghetti, meatloaf and chili are nostalgic but routine and you better bet that at 7pm on a night a home, my family will all be gathered around the kitchen island.  My kitchen is the CENTER of my home. This video about Maryann, the Cookie Lady (who is totally adorable) shows how she has spent her life in the kitchen, making people happy &#8211; making people cookies!  Have a look: Maryann the Cookie Lady is part of the documentary series exploring the diversity of the American kitchen called Our American Kitchen. The documentaries explore how real GE appliance owners, as genuine representatives of Americans and the American experience, are living their lives. All of our kitchen experiences are different, but I bet that at the center of yours, you will have a similar experience as mine.   Kitchens are magical like that. For more on the Our American Kitchen series, check out GEAppliances.com.  GE Appliances is a company that has been a part of the American home since 1905, making products for the American people, for individuals and for each unique family that has its own unique needs, history, and culture. GE has been a part of family life in America for a hundred and ten years, changing ways people live, play, cook, and celebrate! Thanks for reading.  I&#8217;d love to hear how your kitchen is the heart of your home! What does the American Kitchen mean to you? Tell me in the comments in three sentences or less and you’ll be entered to win a GE Cafe™ Series Refrigerator worth $3,100! Entries from participating blogs will be pooled and one winner will be chosen at random.  Back soon with another new recipe! Erin Entry Instructions: No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on the blog post promoting this Promotion.  Your comment will be your entry.  In your comment, tell us what your American Kitchen means to you in 3 Sentences or less. &#160; For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. &#160; This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older (or nineteen (19) years of age or older in Alabama and Nebraska). Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 2 business days to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 9/16/15 – 10/25/15. Be sure to visit the GE Appliances brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!]]></description>
		
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		<title>Chocolate Cream Pie</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/chocolate-cream-pie/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 12 Sep 2015 16:01:50 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured Center]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Header]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate cream pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate shavings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cookie crust]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[refrigerated pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[whipped cream]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5171</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Dear Chocolate Cream Pie, I love you. xoxo, Everybody Right?  Who doesn&#8217;t love a good chocolate cream pie?  Crumbly, buttery, chocolaty crust.  Creamy, silky chocolate pudding, topped with lightly sweetened, homemade whipped cream.  And chocolate shavings. It&#8217;s the best thing, ever.  And really, its very easy &#8211; a bit time consuming, but very easy.  You guys, if I can make this stuff, seriously anyone can.  Do it! Probably the most difficult thing about this pie is that you need to track down a package of chocolate wafers &#8211; they can be a bit elusive, but I almost always find them by the ice cream toppings and ice cream cones at the grocery store.  They come in a cardboard sleeve, and one package makes the perfect amount of crust.  And they&#8217;re fantastic. If you&#8217;ve tried really hard and can&#8217;t find them anywhere, you can use the chocolate part of an Oreo &#8211; don&#8217;t use the filling for this recipe.  Just use a kitchen scale to measure out 9 ounces. The filling is basically a homemade chocolate pudding.  It uses a lot of egg yolks, and it seems a bit intimidating, but really &#8211; if you follow the recipe exactly, it&#8217;s a piece of cake.  Or pie.  Chocolate pie, actually. Sorry. The past five years (wow- can you believe I&#8217;ve been blogging for nearly five years?!?) have taught me a lot about baking and cooking in general, but probably my most important nugget of experience is that you should always pre-prep your ingredients.  Pre-measure, lay everything out, get organized.  It will save you SO much time, and prevent the freak-outs when you are in the middle of something and can&#8217;t walk away. And, there&#8217;s something fun about having little bowls of pre-measured ingredients spread in front of you.  You can pretend you&#8217;re on a cooking show. What?   I don&#8217;t do that.  Psssht. If you&#8217;re going to make this recipe, just make sure you have plenty of time for the filling to set up.  I like t make it the night before, then make the whipped cream right before I serve it.  Whipped cream is definitely best when it&#8217;s fresh. Hope you love this one!  Enjoy! Chocolate Cream Pie &#160; Print Prep time 6 hours Cook time 15 mins Total time 6 hours 15 mins &#160; Recipe courtesy of Saveur. Serves: 12 servings Ingredients 16 Tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1⁄2" cubes and chilled, plus more for pie plate 1⁄4 cup packed light brown sugar 1 (9-oz.) package chocolate wafers, such as Nabisco, finely ground (about 2 1⁄4 cups) 3 and 1⁄2 cups half-and-half 2⁄3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons sugar 1⁄4 cup cornstarch 9 egg yolks 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped 2 1⁄2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups heavy cream Dark chocolate, for garnish Instructions Crust: Heat oven to 375°. Grease bottom and sides of a 9"-glass pie plate with butter; set aside. Heat 8 Tablespoons butter and brown sugar in a 1-qt. saucepan until sugar dissolves. Transfer butter mixture to a medium bowl; stir in ground wafers. Transfer mixture to pie plate; press into bottom and sides, using the bottom of a measuring cup to compress crust. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Bake until set, about 15 minutes; let cool. Filling: Heat half-and-half in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat until it just begins to simmer; remove pan from heat. In a large bowl, whisk together 2⁄3 cup sugar and cornstarch. Add egg yolks and whisk until smooth. Drizzle half-and-half into egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly, until smooth. Return mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until bubbles rise to the surface and mixture is very thick, 3–4 minutes. Remove pan from heat and add remaining butter and chocolates in small batches, whisking until smooth. Stir in 1 1⁄2 tsp. vanilla. Set a sieve over a medium bowl and strain chocolate mixture. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing plastic onto surface; refrigerate until set, about 4 hours. Assembly and topping: Remove plastic wrap from chocolate filling and, using a rubber spatula, stir mixture until smooth. Spoon mixture into reserved crust, forming a dome, and smooth surface with the spatula. In a large bowl, whisk remaining sugar, remaining vanilla, and heavy cream until stiff peaks form; spread on top of filling, forming a dome. Using a peeler, shave some of the dark chocolate onto top of pie. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>No Bake Peanut Butter Cheesecake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/no-bake-peanut-butter-cheesecake/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Sep 2015 01:39:16 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cheesecake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[No Bake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Peanut Butter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cheesecake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[no-bake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oreo crust]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[peanut butter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[peanut butter cups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quick]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5147</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[As the minutes start to dwindle on my four-day holiday weekend, I have to admit that I&#8217;m not ready quite yet to get back into the swing of things.  Tomorrow it&#8217;s back to work, the girls start two-nights-a-week dance class, and suddenly the first signs of fall are all around us.  Now, don&#8217;t get me wrong &#8211; I love fall, but I don&#8217;t love winter.  Fall is a bit of a double-edged sword.  Love it, but dread it because cold weather is right around the corner. So, I&#8217;m not really ready to jump into the pumpkin desserts quite yet.  I&#8217;ll get there, but I&#8217;m going to ease in this year.  Let&#8217;s stick with chocolate and peanut butter. Okay? Okay. This is an especially good dessert for this busy time of year, because it really goes together very quickly.  You can even make it a day or two ahead of time and keep it stored, covered, in the refrigerator and it will be good as new. A couple of days ago, my father-in-law was in a terrible motorcycle accident and has been in the hospital since then &#8211; he&#8217;s thankfully going to be fine, but I am planning a few meals and treats for him once he gets home.  This is definitely going on the menu.  It&#8217;s delicious, first of all, but since it also holds up well in the refrigerator, it should be a nice treat for him to enjoy for a few days.  Plus, it&#8217;s easy to split the recipe and make a smaller version. Oh, and also &#8211; who doesn&#8217;t love peanut butter and chocolate? If you don&#8217;t have a springform pan, I&#8217;d definitely recommend one &#8211; they aren&#8217;t terribly expensive and they make these refrigerated desserts so much  easier &#8211; and I&#8217;m not sure I&#8217;ll ever make a cheesecake without one again. One of my favorite things about this dessert this the thick cookie crust &#8211; I just adore crust on just about every dessert, so the fact that this one has an extra-thick one makes it an immediate winner in my book. I hope you love this one.  Enjoy! No Bake Peanut Butter Cheesecake &#160; Print Prep time 30 mins Total time 30 mins &#160; This light and fluffy peanut butter cheesecake goes together in minutes, won't heat up your kitchen, and is always a crowd-pleaser! Enjoy! Recipe source: Lightly adapted from Beyond Frosting. Serves: 12 servings Ingredients Crust: 2 and &#189; cups Oreo Cookie Crumbs (about 1 package of Oreo Cookies, crushed) 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (melt after you measure) Filling: 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature &#190; cup creamy peanut butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream 1 tub cool whip (or fresh whipped cream - about 3 cups, whipped 10 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (chopped) Garnish: 6 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (chopped) &#188; cup creamy peanut butter (optional) &#188; cup fudge sauce (optional) Instructions Crust: Using a food processor, pulse the Oreo cookies until they are reduced to a fine crumbed powder. Measure 2 and &#189; cups of crumbs, and place into a large bowl. Pour melted butter over crumbs, and stir to combine, until all of the crumbs are moistened Using the bottom of a drinking glass or measuring cup, press the crumbs into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside. Filling: In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add peanut butter and beat until completely incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and heavy whipping cream. Beat on medium-high for 2-3 minutes, until very fluffy and light. Add Cool Whip and beat into batter, scraping the bowl occasionally. Add chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and stir to combine. Pour filling into prepared crust. Refrigerate for two hours before serving. Garnish: Sprinkle remaining chopped peanut butter cups over the top of the cake. Melt the peanut butter in the microwave, in 15 second increments to prevent burning. Drizzle melted peanut butter and hot fudge over the top of the cake. Enjoy! 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Apple Frangipane Tart</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/apple-frangipane-tart/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2015 02:38:17 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Other Desserts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pastry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[almond]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[apple]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[apple dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[apple pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy tart]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fall dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fancy dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[frangipane]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sliced apples]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tart]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tart dough]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5131</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m so fancy. Ok, not really.  Not at all, actually.  But if I was, this is tart that would prove it. Guys, this tart is amazing.  Apples, almond filling, shortbread crust.  So, so good.  The apples are juicy and sweet, the frangipane apple custard is firm and creamy, and the crust is thick and soft.  I&#8217;m not sure how it gets any better. Frangipane is a baked almond cream.  It&#8217;s much like a custard &#8211; maybe a bit more firm, but it has that lovely almond flavor that I love.  (Think the flavor of almond paste or even marzipan.)  The photos here are a bit misleading &#8211; my sugared apples put out a lot of juice so the bubbles from the apples give the appearance of a wet filling &#8211; but it&#8217;s really very custard-like and creamy underneath the apple &#8220;sauce&#8221; on top of the tart. Bubbles or not, this tart is sophisticated, delicious and you can&#8217;t help but feel fancy when you say &#8220;frangipane.&#8221; The crust of the tart is very much like a shortbread cookie.  It&#8217;s a bit crumbly, but mostly soft and flavorful &#8211; a touch sweet, very buttery and melt-in-your-mouth Y-U-M.  I love to brush my pastries with little bit of melted jam, because it just makes it so brown and pretty!  Today I used some apple jelly from my recent trip to Minnesota and it worked nicely! While I definitely recommend a tart pan, you don&#8217;t have to go that route.  Tart pans are nice because they have a removable bottom, and the tart is easy to remove from the pan when you are all done.  It&#8217;s mostly aesthetic, so if you don&#8217;t have one, don&#8217;t stress!  Just use a deep pie pan or even a 9&#215;9 square baking pan.  It&#8217;s all good. You can substitute pears, figs would be great &#8211; or even berries.  Raspberries would be great here! Make sure you bake it until it&#8217;s completely set up in the middle &#8211; and  if your crust is getting too brown just drop a foil tent over the top while it finishes baking.  I also like to set my tart pans on a larger baking sheet &#8211; mostly to make it easier to get in and out of the oven.  Tart pans always make me nervous &#8211; like my hand is going to punch through the bottom and ruin whatever I&#8217;ve just made. Dumb.  But still.  If it was going to happen to someone, it would be me.  😉 The apple and almond combo is great &#8211; the apples are sweet but tart, and the almond flavor is prevalent but not overwhelming.  And seriously, you can&#8217;t go wrong with the crust!  In fact, I loved it so much that I used it on last week&#8217;s Peach Streusel Slab Pie.  I hope you love this one.  Enjoy! Apple Frangipane Tart &#160; Print Prep time 60 mins Cook time 45 mins Total time 1 hour 45 mins &#160; Serves: 12 servings Ingredients Tart Dough: 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter room temperature 3 cups all-purpose flour &#8532; cup confectioners' sugar &#189; teaspoon kosher salt Frangipane (almond filling): 5 ounces almond paste, broken into pieces &#8531; cup sugar 2 eggs, divided &#189; cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into small pieces Zest of 1 lemon 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 Tablespoons flour &#188; teaspoon baking powder Fruit Topping: 3 ripe apples (like Granny Smith) peeled, cored and sliced thin Instructions Prepare: Prepare a tart pan (with removable bottom) with cooking spray or butter. Set aside. Dough: Combine the butter, flour, confectioners' sugar and salt in a food processor and process until the mixture comes together in a solid mass (this may take a few minutes). Drop pieces of the dough in to the prepared tart pan. Use your fingers to press the dough evenly along the bottom and up the sides of the pan, filling any gaps. Set aside. Filling: Put almond paste, sugar and 1 of the eggs into the food processor and purée until smooth. Add butter, zest and vanilla and continue mixing until well combined. Mix in flour and baking powder then add remaining egg and continue mixing until smooth and well incorporated. Transfer frangipane to tart shell, cover and chill for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Peel and slice apples. After the tart and filling have chilled for 30 minutes, add the apples. Starting in the middle, arrange apples in a spiral pattern on top, pressing them down lightly and leaving some room between slices for frangipane to puff up. Place tart pan on a baking sheet and bake until pastry is golden brown and frangipane is set in the center and golden, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven, set aside to let cool for 15 minutes then carefully remove outer ring of pan and transfer tart to a serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature. 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Peach Streusel Slab Pie</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/peach-streusel-slab-pie/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/peach-streusel-slab-pie/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 31 Aug 2015 04:01:24 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Bars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cinnamon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured Center]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Garden]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nuts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pastry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[almonds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cinnamon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cookie sheet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crumb topping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[peach dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[peach pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[peaches]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quick pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[slab pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[streusel]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5122</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Last week was just one of those weeks.  We were coming off the first week of school, which is always a bit earth-shattering as we settle back into our normal routines, but we also started our weekend with a funeral.  My husband&#8217;s grandfather passed away, which was sad and complicated and full of all the feels you would expect, and my niece was already five days old and I&#8217;d barely even held her yet because I&#8217;d been so busy.  And then, I threw my back out. Then halfway through week two of school, my youngest already had her first absence of the school year, a mere five days in, and my other daughter and I didn&#8217;t feel all that well either.  Work has been stressful.  The weather was cool and dreary.  My house has been messier that I like for a while.  Our vacation afterglow has worn off. So it&#8217;s just been a week.  On Friday, I made a trip to Whole Foods for a bit of retail therapy (yes, sometimes food shopping counts &#8211; Dean &#38; Deluca or gourmet baking shops work, too.  Oh, and cookbooks.)  I got all excited about their peaches, figs, and apples &#8211; I think the cooler weather is getting me in the mood for fall baking. So, I bought 18 peaches. Yep, 18.  I don&#8217;t know why.  Apparently having a blah week calls for peaches.   So, since I have 18 peaches to use up in approximately 36 hours, (&#8217;cause organic peaches just don&#8217;t last long!) I made four peach desserts this weekend. But you know what?  I totally feel better.  Baking just does that for me &#8211; sounds so dumb, but spending time in the kitchen really does cheer me up.  Especially when I&#8217;m baking for the blog, or just for me &#8211; for no other reason than I just want to be in the kitchen.  No stress, no deadlines.  Just baking. Mia even came in and sat with me &#8211; she made the streusel and ate about three whole peaches in one sitting. We talked about school and her first spelling test and how much she LOOOVES her first grade teacher.  She&#8217;s sweet. But ANYWAY, so yes.  I had a bad week and now I feel better. So, peach pie, anyone? I love slab pies &#8211; they&#8217;re easy and a fun take on the traditional pie &#8211; and it took me exactly two seconds to decide on this recipe when I saw that streusel topping.  It&#8217;s so good &#8211; cinnamon and sugar and a little crunch from the sliced almonds.  Peaches and cinnamon go together perfectly, so the whole thing just worked. This crust is a bit like a shortbread cookie &#8211; not terribly sweet and a bit crumbly &#8211; but even better, it&#8217;s all made in a food processor so it&#8217;s easy as, well&#8230;pie. Peach pie. Sorry. This is a pretty easy recipe &#8211; my only advice would be to maybe put some foil underneath your baking sheet just in case the peaches bubble over.  And if you really like streusel, double it for a special treat! Enjoy! Peach Streusel Slab Pie &#160; Print Prep time 25 mins Cook time 60 mins Total time 1 hour 25 mins &#160; Slab pies are quicker and easier than traditional pies, and can be eaten as bars, and served warm or at room temperature. This beautiful pie makes good use of late summer peaches, making the transition from summer to fall a delicious one! Recipe source: The Food Network Serves: 12-16 servings Ingredients Dough: 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter room temperature 3 cups all-purpose flour &#8532; cup confectioners' sugar &#189; teaspoon kosher salt Filling: 3 pounds peaches (about 6 peaches), cut into &#189;-inch wedges 1&#189; cups firmly packed light brown sugar Juice of 1 lemon 3 tablespoons cornstarch 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon &#189; teaspoon kosher salt &#188; teaspoon nutmeg Streusel: &#190; cup all-purpose flour &#189; cup sliced skin-on almonds &#189; cup firmly packed light brown sugar 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted &#188; teaspoon kosher salt Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Prepare a 10x15 rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray or butter. Set aside. Dough: Combine the butter, flour, confectioners' sugar and salt in a food processor and process until the mixture comes together in a solid mass (this may take a few minutes). Drop pieces of the dough all over the prepared baking sheet. Use your fingers to press the dough evenly along the bottom and about &#189; inch up the sides of the pan, filling any gaps. Set aside. Filling: Peel and slice peaches. Toss together the peaches, brown sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, vanilla, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in a large bowl until the cornstarch dissolves. Transfer the filling onto the crust and spread in an even layer. Bake for 30 minutes. Streusel topping: While the pie bakes, make the streusel topping by combining the flour, almonds, brown sugar, melted butter and salt in a small bowl until evenly moistened. Remove the pie from the oven and sprinkle the streusel evenly over the filling. Return the pie to the oven and bake until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbly, 25 to 30 minutes more. (If the crust browns too quickly during baking, cover the pie loosely with foil.) Let the pie cool. Serve warm or at room temperature. 3.2.2925   link]]></description>
		
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		<title>Black Forest Pound Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/black-forest-pound-cake/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 28 Aug 2015 10:00:58 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cherry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entertaining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[black forest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[black forest cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cherries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cherry sauce]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dense cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grated chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[whipped cream]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5086</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[You know what a grown-up dessert is, don&#8217;t you?  My desserts get that label simply when my kids won&#8217;t eat them &#8211; usually because they aren&#8217;t sweet enough, or they have nuts or unfamiliar ingredients.  (Or booze, but that&#8217;s captain obvious, right?) This one is a grown-up dessert.  The chocolate is dark, it&#8217;s rich but light, and the sweetness comes from the whipped cream and cherry sauce. My kids did the &#8220;we&#8217;re gonna act like we like this so we don&#8217;t hurt your feelings&#8221; face and walked away. My husband and I couldn&#8217;t get enough. See?  Grown-up dessert. &#8216;Cause you guys &#8211; the cherry sauce.  The dark chocolate pound cake.  The creamy whipped cream.  Grown-up cakes are my favorite! I have to admit that my favorite part is the cherry sauce.  It simmered on my stove top and made my whole house smell like magic, and I just couldn&#8217;t stop tasting.  I used tart cherries (mostly because I can&#8217;t stand sweet cherries unless they are fresh but that&#8217;s just me I&#8217;m sure) and I gotta tell you &#8211; the combo of the tart cherries and the dark chocolate was out of this world. Plus, so pretty.  Just look: And then, you cut a big ol&#8217; slice of this rich cake, and the cream kind of intermingles with the cherries, and it&#8217;s all just so wonderful up in your world for a few minutes. Until, of course, you eat your whole big piece in about three distinguished bites. But then things get awesome again because you remember that this a grown-up dessert, you don&#8217;t have share with your kids. #moreforme This is probably one of those recipes that&#8217;s easier if you make it in stages.  The cake takes about an hour to bake, and the cherry sauce has to simmer for a bit and then cool completely.   The cherry sauce will keep in the refrigerator for a few days, so you might as well just go make some right now. It&#8217;s ok, I&#8217;ll wait. Don&#8217;t eat it all though &#8211; you&#8217;ll kick yourself if you don&#8217;t save any for the cake.  Plus, the cherry sauce isn&#8217;t deemed a grown-up dessert until you actually put it on this cake, so consider yourself warned.  It&#8217;s not safe in your fridge.  Might want to hide it in the back and cover it up with some kale and bean sprouts to be safe. Not that things work that way in my house.  Don&#8217;t be silly &#8211; I&#8217;d NEVER hide anything from my kids.  Or husband.  Never. I hope you love it.  Enjoy! Black Forest Pound Cake &#160; Print Prep time 30 mins Cook time 1 hour Total time 1 hour 30 mins &#160; This pound cake is dense and intensely chocolate. The sweetness of the cherries and whipped cream add a lightness to a really beautiful dessert. Enjoy! Recipe source: Southern Living Cakes &#38; Pies, Summer 2014 Serves: 12 servings Ingredients For cake: &#8532; cup unsalted butter, softened 1 and &#8531; cups sugar &#8532; cup packed brown sugar 4 large eggs at room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 and &#189; cups cake flour &#189; cup unsweetened cocoa powder &#189; teaspoon salt &#188; teaspoon baking soda &#190; cup sour cream 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped Cherry Sauce 2 12-ounce packages frozen cherries &#8531; cup sugar &#8531; cup cold water 3 teaspoons corn starch 2 teaspoons amaretto or brandy &#189; teaspoon vanilla extract pinch of salt Whipped Cream: 1 and &#188; cup heavy cream 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar &#189; teaspoon vanilla extract Garnish: 1 ounce shaved chocolate Instructions Prepare Cherry Sauce: In a medium saucepan, stir together frozen cherries, water, sugar and cornstarch. Cook over medium-low heat for 12-15 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat, and add amaretto (or brandy), vanilla, and salt. Stir to combine. Allow to cool completely before topping cake (about 1 hour.) Cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Prepare a 10-inch pan with 3-inch sides by buttering and coating with flour. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth and creamy. Gradually add both sugars, beating until light and fluffy. (This will take about 5 minutes.) Add eggs one at a time, beating until just combined after each addition. Add vanilla. In another bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda. Add to butter mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of sour cream. (Flour, sour cream, flour, sour cream, flour...) Beat on low speed until just incorporated after each addition. Stir in chopped chocolate. Pour into prepared pan, and bake for 50-70 minutes, or until a cake-tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely before topping. Whipped cream: In a clean, cold bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form (about 5 minutes.) Add sugar and vanilla, and beat until stiff peaks form. Assembly: Place cake on serving plate. Top with cherry sauce, and dollop whipped cream on top of cherries, Sprinkle with shaved chocolate. Enjoy! 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Instant Party with BACARDI® Mixers pt 2</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/instant-party-bacardi-mixers-pt-2/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 27 Aug 2015 13:58:11 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Beverages]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entertaining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quick]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Smoothie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Summer Favorites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adult beverages]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alcohol]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bacardi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drinks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pina colada]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[smoothies]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5111</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of BACARDI® Mixers for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine. You guys, we had so much fun at our #instantparty last weekend!  Because there is ALWAYS a reason to celebrate, it wasn&#8217;t hard to determine that a housewarming was the perfect excuse. My reason to party?  My dear friend Dawn has a beautiful new home and a lovely pool! Girls night slash pool party! I came armed with a cooler, chock-full of BACARDI® Mixers.  Using the Strawberry Daiquiri, Pina Colada and Margarita mixes, we came up with some really beautiful drinks that were both super-easy to make and delicious!  In my last post, I shared this awesome blue and white pina colada recipe, and today I have two more for you.  They&#8217;re all recipes from instantparty.com except for the blue one &#8211; that&#8217;s my own creation. After we spent some time in the pool, we fired up the blender in the kitchen.  It was SO easy to start with the BACARDI Mixers as the base of our drinks &#8211; and it took no time at all.  All of the recipes I&#8217;ve shared today came together in less than five minutes &#8211; and they all make four to six drinks each!  Large batches of drinks in no time at all makes our little #instantparty that much more fun. I love our girls nights because everyone contributes &#8211; we all bring an appetizer and a drink, and it&#8217;s not too much work for any one person.  Anytime you can share the workload, the more fun everyone will have!  These totally take the stress out of Party planning! We used a lot of fun garnishes for our drinks.   My favorite were the awesome sprinkles in the Confetti Colada.  The drink gets prettier while it sits, and all of the sprinkles leave colorful trails as they sink to the bottom of the glass.  HOW.  CUTE.  (And delish!) And while all of the BACARDI® Mixers use fresh juices, the addition of lemon, pineapple and cherries just makes them so festive and pretty.  Having these drink mixes ready to go in my freezer is a must going forward &#8211; &#8217;cause you never know when the party mood will strike! I hope you&#8217;ve enjoyed my series on BACARDI® Mixers this week.  There are a TON of great recipes at instantparty.com, and you can find the BACARDI® Mixers in grocers nationwide. Enjoy! ENJOY RESPONSIBLY. ©2015 THE COCA-COLA COMPANY ©2015 BACARDI AND THE BAT DEVICE AND ITS TRADE DRESS ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF BACARDI &#38; COMPANY LIMITED. RUM 40% ALC. BY VOLUME. Blue Sea Poolside Drink &#160; Print Prep time 5 mins Total time 5 mins &#160; This poolside drink is full of coconut flavor, and is refreshing and perfect for an #instantparty! Serves: 6 drinks Ingredients 1 can BACARDI Mixers Pina Colada mix &#189; cup BACARDI Rum 5 cups ice Blue Curacao, to taste (about 2 teaspoons) Fresh pineapple and cherries for garnish Instructions In a blender, pulse together Pina Colada mix, rum and ice until smooth. Pour into glasses. Garnish with a dash of Blue Curacao, cherries and fresh pineapple. Enjoy! 3.2.2925 Confetti Colada &#160; Print Prep time 5 mins Total time 5 mins &#160; Perfect for an #instantparty, this adorable Confetti Colada combines coconut and lime flavors with a fun sprinkle garnish. Serves: 4-5 drinks Ingredients 1 can BACARDI Mixers Pina Colada Mix &#190; cup high quality vodka &#189; cup BACARDI Limon 4 cups ice 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (clear, if possible) Rainbow nonpareil sprinkles for garnish Whipped cream, for garnish Maraschino cherries with stems, for garnish Instructions In a blender, combine all ingredients except sprinkles. Pulse until smooth. Pour into glasses, and garnish with sprinkles, whipped cream and a cherry. Enjoy! 3.2.2925 Pretty Punch &#160; Print Prep time 5 mins Total time 5 mins &#160; This beautiful drink is fruity and fizzy, and quick and easy for an #instantparty! Serves: 4 drinks Ingredients 1 can BACARDI Mixers Strawberry Daiquiri mix 1 cup high quality vodka 1 bottle sweet sparkling wine, such as moscato &#188; cup fresh lemon juice 4 cups of ice Sliced lemon for garnish Instructions Fill four glasses with ice. In a large pitcher, combine the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine, then pour into glasses. Garnish with sliced lemon. Enjoy! 3.2.2925 ENJOY RESPONSIBLY. ©2015 THE COCA-COLA COMPANY ©2015 BACARDI AND THE BAT DEVICE AND ITS TRADE DRESS ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF BACARDI &#38; COMPANY LIMITED. RUM 40% ALC. BY VOLUME.]]></description>
		
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		<title>Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Bundt Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/chocolate-peanut-butter-swirl-bundt-cake/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 10 Aug 2015 01:27:01 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Peanut Butter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bundt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ganache]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[peanut butter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[swirl]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5066</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Can someone please make summer stick around for a few more months?  While you&#8217;re at it, let&#8217;s just go ahead and do two months of spring, seven months of summer, two months of fall and one month of winter with lots of snow. Kthanks. I&#8217;m having weather feelings because today we bought school shoes and backpacks for the girls &#8211; they go back to school in less than two weeks.  That. Is. Not. OK. Even though I love me some fall weather, I am so not ready to let go of summer.  Kansas is a great place to live if you want all four seasons, but I&#8217;d like a little less winter and a little more summer.  Hear me, Mother Nature? So, while I have tons of great fall recipes lined up for you over the next few months, I&#8217;m just not quite ready for pumpkin &#8211; I&#8217;m sticking with peanut butter and chocolate.  Not that that&#8217;s necessarily a &#8220;summer&#8221; flavor, but it&#8217;s not distinctly fall, either&#8230;so, yeah.  Weather feelings apparently don&#8217;t translate to baking rationale. Whatever.  I think I spent too much time in the sun today.  I&#8217;m not making any sense. Let&#8217;s talk about this cake.  It&#8217;s really fantastic &#8211; very dense, very chocolaty, very peanut-buttery.  The combo of both peanut butter and chocolate ganache on top are (literally) the frosting on the cake and bring it all together.  It&#8217;s an intense flavor, so if you love your PB&#38;chocolate, you&#8217;re set. Either way, make sure you have a glass of milk nearby, &#8217;cause you&#8217;ll need it. This recipe isn&#8217;t terribly quick &#8211; but it&#8217;s also not complicated so don&#8217;t let it deter you!  The batters are both easy to put together, and the ganache is actually WAY easier than other frostings, so just do it. #bossy Plus, if you have a peanut butter lover in your life, this will earn you some major points. Make sure you completely butter your bundt pan, and then coat it with flour.  It *SHOULD* come right out if you make sure you cover all of the creases and crevices.  And nothing makes me happier than a cake that comes right out of the pan like it&#8217;s supposed to. My life is super-exciting, guys.  Clearly. Get your milk ready and whip this up, ASAP!  And let me know what you think &#8211; I love comments! Enjoy! Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Bundt Cake &#160; Print Prep time 30 mins Cook time 60 mins Total time 1 hour 30 mins &#160; Dense, rich and full of that awesome chocolate and peanut butter combo, this cake is best served with a cold glass of milk! Recipe source: Betsy Life Serves: 12 servings Ingredients Chocolate batter: 1 cup sugar ¼ cup vegetable oil 1 egg, room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ½ cup milk at room temperature ¾ cup + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour ½ cup + 2 Tablespoons dark cocoa powder ¾ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt ½ cup boiling water Peanut Butter Batter: ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature ¾ cup creamy peanut butter 1 cup sugar 1 egg, room temperature 1 and ⅓ cups self rising flour 1 cup buttermilk room temperature Peanut Butter Ganache: 8 ounces peanut butter chips ½ cup heavy cream Chocolate Ganache: 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips 2 Tablespoons heavy cream Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Butter a 9-inch bundt pan, and coat with flour. Tap out excess flour. Make sure all crevices are completely covered with butter and flour. Set aside. Chocolate batter: In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside. In a large bowl, beat together sugar and oil until well combined and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, and milk and beat until combined. Slowly add flour mixture to sugar mixture and beat on medium speed to combine. Carefully stir in boiling water, beat on low until well combined, and set aside while you prepare the peanut butter batter. Peanut Butter Batter: In a large bowl beat together butter, peanut butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, and beat until just combined. Carefully add in &#8531; of the flour, followed by &#189; of the buttermilk. Mix until just combined. Add half of the remaining flour and the remaining buttermilk. Mix until just combined. Add the remaining flour, and beat until just combined. Set aside. Prepare the cake: Pour a thin layer of chocolate batter into the prepared pan. Add large spoonfuls (about 2 Tablespoons each) over the chocolate layer. Pour another layer of chocolate over the peanut butter layer. Repeat process until you've used all of the batter. Your final layer should be chocolate. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out cleanly. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then invert onto a serving platter. Cool completely before frosting. Peanut Butter Ganache: Place peanut butter chips into a small bowl. Set aside. In a small bowl, heat the cream until steaming hot but not boiling. Pour hot cream over peanut butter chips and allow to sit for 30 seconds. Stir until chips are melted and completely smooth and combined. Pour over cooled cake. Chocolate Ganache: Place chocolate chips into a small bowl. Set aside. In a small bowl, heat the cream until steaming hot but not boiling. Pour hot cream over chocolate chips and allow to sit for 30 seconds. Stir until chips are melted and completely smooth and combined. Pour over cooled cake. (I put mine into a plastic bag and cut the tip off to help drizzle the ganache.) 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Instant Party with Bacardi Mixers pt 1</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/instant-party-bacardi-mixers-pt-1-2/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/instant-party-bacardi-mixers-pt-1-2/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 07 Aug 2015 22:21:21 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Beverages]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entertaining]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5057</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of BACARDI® Mixers for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.   You know by now that I love to entertain and host parties so I&#8217;m always looking for a reason to celebrate.  Like the old adage &#8220;It&#8217;s five o&#8217;clock somewhere,&#8221; there is always something to celebrate &#8211; and it&#8217;s not terribly difficult to find it if you just look.   For instance, last week my husband and I were celebrating the last week of softball.  But heck, we could find reason to celebrate in finishing our deck.  Changing the lawnmower belt.  Keeping the house clean!  Getting the laundry done before we all run out of pants.   The point is, there is ALWAYS something to celebrate, even in life&#8217;s mundane tasks.   This weekend, though, I have a legit reason to celebrate &#8211; GIRLS NIGHT!   My dear friend Dawn just bought a lovely new home, and the girls and I are taking it upon ourselves to break in her new swimming pool.  We&#8217;ll bring drinks and apps, and hang out by the pool and catch up, gossip and of course, indulge in some adult beverages.   I&#8217;m not sure if anything screams &#8220;pool-party-girls-night&#8221; more than some frozen drinks and BACARDI® Mixers, so we spent some time via email this week on instantparty.com, picking our favorite recipes, deciding on the menu and planning the event.  There are a TON of great recipe ideas on the site, so definitely take some time to browse &#8211; lots of good inspiration.   So, here&#8217;s what I love about this.  BACARDI® Mixers make Party planning (or instant parties) much easier!  The drinks are SO easily made, the recipes are simple and you can even get a little bit creative and make your own drink in no time.  Compared to whipping up a frozen fruit drink from scratch, these are a TOTAL breeze!   The Mixers are made with fresh juices, but they are very convenient and can be stored in your freezer for anytime the mood strikes.  (Yay, good hair day!  Pina Coladas for everyone!) My reason to party today?  I have a three cans of ​BACARDI® Mixers in my freezer!     Because the inspiration to celebrate can hit at any time, (Yay! My new cookbook came a day early!) BACARDI® Mixers are easy to store in your freezer for any 911 party needs. There are seven flavors to choose from, including Strawberry Daiquiri, Margarita and Pina Colada, and they can be found at retailers nationwide.   We&#8217;ve narrowed our recipes down to three or four now, so stay tuned and I&#8217;ll post pictures and more recipes from the party in a few days. In the meantime, this is a recipe I created myself to share with everyone.  It&#8217;s so pretty with the swirl of blue on top that I decided to call it a Blue Sea Pina Colada.  It&#8217;s a basic Pina Colada recipe, but includes a swirl of Blue Curacao (an orange liqueur) and a fun garnish.  So, so good, and I know my friends will just love it.   Oh, and experimenting with recipes for an upcoming girls night?  Another reason to party!  I could get used to this.     Enjoy, and I&#8217;ll be back soon with pictures from our party.   Blue Sea Pina Colada &#160; Print Prep time 5 mins Total time 5 mins &#160; A gorgeous twist on a Pina Colada, the addition of Blue Curacao as a swirl on top lends a slight hint of orange to the coconut flavor, and makes a beautiful drink, too! Garnish with fresh pineapple and a maraschino cherry for a beautiful presentation. Recipe source: Lemon Sugar Original Serves: 2-4 drinks Ingredients 1 can BACARDI Mixers Pina Colada mix &#189; cup BACARDI Rum 5 cups ice Blue Curacao, to taste (about 2 teaspoons) Fresh pineapple and cherries for garnish Instructions In a blender, combine Pina Colada mix, rum and ice. Pulse until smooth. Pour into glasses. Pour Blue Curacao over the top of the drink, and use a spoon to swirl. Garnish with pineapples and cherries. Enjoy! 3.2.2925  ENJOY RESPONSIBLY. ©2014 BACARDI AND THE BAT DEVICE AND ITS TRADE DRESS ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF BACARDI &#38; COMPANY LIMITED. RUM 40% ALC. BY VOL. ©2014 THE COCA-COLA COMPANY. NON-ALCOHOLIC MIXERS. 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>12 Hour Adventure with Caribou Coffee</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/12-hour-adventure-caribou-coffee/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 06 Aug 2015 18:25:28 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Coffee]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Out and About]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5041</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m so excited about today&#8217;s post!  If you follow me on Instagram, you probably noticed that I&#8217;ve been on a fun vacation over the past few days.  What makes this even more exciting is that I&#8217;ve teamed up with my friends over at Caribou Coffee to bring you a look into my 12-hour adventure.  (Okay, we actually had about FOUR 12-hour adventures over the past week, but believe me, Caribou Coffee was along for the ride each time. My family and I packed up the car for a road trip from our home near Kansas City to Minneapolis for a quick family vacation before the girls head back to school.  My husband and I have been to the area a number of times, but this was the first time for the girls.  Minneapolis is a great town &#8211; beautiful, clean, great weather and a LOT to do for the whole family! After checking into our hotel, we immediately took a walk down the block and visited the Caribou Coffee next door.  Believe it or not, Caribou Coffee was the first coffee shop I ever visited, many years ago.  I started with a Vanilla Cooler (I remember it like it was yesterday!) but have since worked my way through their awesome menu.  This trip was all about the Crafted Press.  I&#8217;m obsessed. An early-August vacation in the Midwest definitely calls for cold coffee drinks, and their new Crafted Press is just perfect for an all-day adventure.  The cold-steeped coffee is energizing and the touch of sweetness is refreshing &#8211; really, it&#8217;s like it was made to fuel a family vacation!  You can see the contents of my #12hradventure travel bag above:  my camera, a journal, my tablet, snacks, sunglasses, flippies, money, chapstick, my hotel key, Walker Museum pass, and of course, my large Crafted Press from Caribou Coffee! Our 12-hour adventure took us all over the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area.  We visited Stillwater, Minnesota first &#8211; exploring their darling shops, restaurants and took in the riverfront, small-town atmosphere.  My Caramel Crafted Press kept me going, which was just what I needed to get my kids in and out of toy stores, candy stores and fudge shops, and into the stores I wanted to visit &#8211; antique bookstores, cooking shops and vintage storefronts. Next stop was a trip across the St. Croix river and into Wisconsin for some fried cheese curds and beautiful scenery.  Then, a trip to Minnehaha Falls to see the gorgeous  waterfall and surrounding park.  (This is precisely the point where we visited another Caribou Coffee for a refill &#8211; Vanilla Crafted Press this time!) Our adventures took us to Valley Fair and Soak City, the amusement and water park in town, as well as the Science Museum and the Walker Museum and Sculpture Garden.  The Como Park Zoo and Conservatory were next, as well as a trip to the Mall of America for the girls (insert Crafted Press #3 here &#8211; Chocolate!) Everything about our trip was fantastic.  While I&#8217;m typically a beach-vacationer, I love exploring new cities, the drive to get there, staying in big fancy hotels right in the heart of the city &#8211; eating new food, shopping in new shops&#8230;and exposing my kids to everything along the way.  We had a lovely breakfast (Crafted Press #4 &#8211; White Chocolate!) in the Loring Greenway behind our hotel one morning, and my kids had a great time chasing squirrels and feeding birds, while my husband and I soaked up some sun with our coffee. We are home now, and I&#8217;m already missing Minnesota &#8211; and I&#8217;m definitely missing my Crafted Press companions &#8211; time to adjust my commute to work so I drive right past a Caribou Coffee!  Who knows what #12houradventure awaits me in my very own city? I&#8217;m wondering, what #12hradventure inspires you?  What would you do with your 12 hours?  I&#8217;m already planning my next one! If you&#8217;d like to try Crafted Press, you can fill out this survey and receive one complimentary medium beverage!  And, you can sign up for Caribou Perks from their mobile app. Hope you enjoyed this look into our #12hradventure.  Thanks for reading! Erin This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Caribou Coffee.]]></description>
		
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		<title>Mini Apple Crumb Sundaes</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/mini-apple-crumb-sundaes/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/mini-apple-crumb-sundaes/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2015 14:17:08 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cinnamon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entertaining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ice Cream]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nuts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Other Desserts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Party Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Summer Favorites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ala mode]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[appetizers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[apple]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[apple pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[caramel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crumb topping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[desserts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fillo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ice cream]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[phyllo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[walnuts]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=5026</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m not sure that ANYTHING screams summertime dessert more than apple pie.  But even more, apple pie with ice cream?  Not much better than that.  And while I love a good pie, they can really be a major undertaking &#8211; from the crust to the filling to crossing your fingers that they set up like they&#8217;re supposed to &#8211; that&#8217;s a lot of dessert-stress that sometimes I just don&#8217;t want to deal with. I hosted my extended family gathering for the 4th of July this year, so in my search for a dessert that would make my hostess-duties easier, I turned to my favorite secret weapon &#8211; Athens Mini Fillo Shells.  You guys, I LOVE THEM!  The texture is delicate, crisp and flaky, sturdy enough to hold up to fillings and toppings, and works with both savory and sweet recipes. Love. This simple recipe combines chopped apple pie filling, cinnamon and a walnut crumb topping to transform these Athens Mini Fillo Shells into one of the most brilliant American desserts, the apple pie.  But, this isn&#8217;t your typical apple pie &#8211; there is no knife and fork required &#8211; and if you&#8217;re like me,  you just might find yourself doing a bit of mental math, like &#8220;How many of these can I eat and still have enough for my guests when they arrive?&#8221; Here&#8217;s where things get ridiculous, though. Not ridiculous in a bad way. Ridiculous in a holy-apple-pie-get-in-my-mouth kind of way.  This is where the ice cream comes in. Those mini ice cream scoops are the perfect size for the ice-cream on top, and a drizzle of caramel sauce finishes it off.  Extra points for serving it warm, because then the ice cream gets a bit melty and oozy and&#8230;well, that&#8217;s when you start making up words like &#8220;melty&#8221; and &#8220;oozy.&#8221; In a good way.   You can literally put this dessert together in about 15 minutes, pre-bake it and have it ready to go when your guests arrive.  If you store the baked mini-pies in an airtight container, they&#8217;ll keep for 24 hour hours and remain crisp.  You can warm them in the oven for five minutes before serving if you like them warm. Be sure to check out Athens Foods or Phyllo.com for more recipe ideas.  You can find these mini shells in the freezer section at your grocery store – I’d recommend buying extra and keeping them in your freezer for an unexpected party.  They really are lifesavers! Have you tried Fillo Shells before?  What is your favorite way to serve them?  Let me know, I’m always looking for new ideas! Enjoy! Mini Apple Crumb Sundaes &#160; Print Prep time 15 mins Cook time 15 mins Total time 30 mins &#160; Athens Mini Fillo Shells make the perfect one-bite apple crumb sundae. The crisp texture of the shell with the warm apple pie filling and cold vanilla ice cream makes a quick and delicious treat! Serves: 30 bites Ingredients 2 boxes Athens Mini Fillo Shells (30 shells) 1 cup apple pie filling &#189; teaspoon cinnamon &#189; cup unsalted butter, cold &#188; cup rolled oats &#8532; cup brown sugar 1 pinch salt &#189; cup chopped walnuts Vanilla ice cream Caramel Sauce Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Place Fillo Shells onto a baking sheet. Set aside. Chop apples in apple pie filling into small pieces. Add cinnamon, and stir to combine. Spoon about a teaspoon of filling into each Fillo Shell. Set aside. In a small bowl, use a pastry cutter to combine oats, brown sugar, cold butter and salt until coarsely crumbled. Spoon another teaspoon of topping over the apple pie filling for each shell. Finely chop the walnuts, and sprinkle chopped nuts over the shells. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the filling is bubbling. Remove from oven, and allow to cool slightly. Top with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>Dark Chocolate Dipped Energy Bites</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/dark-chocolate-dipped-energy-bites/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 26 Jul 2015 03:23:44 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cookies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Front Page]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guilt Free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[No Bake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Peanut Butter]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4987</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[It happens occasionally, that I&#8217;m going about my day, maybe enjoying a little energy bite out of my refrigerator when I&#8217;m like,  WAIT!  Why haven&#8217;t I shared these with you guys yet? I guess I get tunnel vision sometimes, always dreaming up the latest and greatest dessert idea that I guess I just overlook my everyday favorites. This is totally an everyday favorite. I&#8217;ve been making these energy bites for a couple of years now.  I&#8217;ve adapted the original recipe just a teensy-bit, but recently decided that I&#8217;d dip them in chocolate.  Good decision. These are the perfect, &#8220;I want something sweet but I don&#8217;t want to eat that whole tray of brownies,&#8221; fix.  They&#8217;re sweet, relatively healthy and will always help you through your biggest sweet-tooth attacks. I&#8217;m always hesitant to call something healthy these days, because the naysayers are out there.  Yes, spinach is healthier than these.  But these are healthier than a tray of brownies, so on the healthy meter, these hold their own. (That&#8217;s what you call dessert blogger logic.) In my world, healthy means that these are full of real, natural ingredients.  Organic, old-fashioned oats.  Unsweetened peanut butter.  Flax seed.  Unsweetened coconut flakes.  Raw agave syrup.  Dark chocolate.  I&#8217;m A-ok with every single one of those ingredients, and I&#8217;m especially ok with my kids BEGGING me for an energy bite out of the fridge. You can TOTALLY customize these bites to add or remove ingredients per your tastebuds.  I&#8217;ve tried a million variations and these are by far my favorite, so these are always the recipe I come back to.  I just LOVE how the chocolate half-shell kind of crackles when you take a bite, and how they&#8217;re just big enough to satisfy your sweet cravings, but not so big that you&#8217;re ruining your diet for the day. (That might be the first time ever the word &#8220;diet&#8221; has appeared on this blog.  Let&#8217;s just pretend that never happened. K?  K. The recipe states that these take 90 minutes to make, but that&#8217;s a bit deceiving.  They take exactly five minutes to mix together, but they have to spend some time in the refrigerator.  Hands-on time is about 15 minutes.  I roll mine into approximately 1.25&#8243; balls, so the size of yours will determine how many you get out of this recipe. Hope you love these.  They&#8217;ve been a family-favorite in my home for quite a while! Enjoy! Dark Chocolate Dipped Energy Bites &#160; Print Prep time 90 mins Total time 1 hour 30 mins &#160; A favorite "healthy treat" around my house, this easy no-bake energy bite is simple, delicious and uses wholesome ingredients you can feel good about feeding your family! Recipe source: Slightly adapted from Gimme Some Oven Serves: 18-24 balls Ingredients 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, organic if possible &#189; cup ground flax seed &#189; cup dark chocolate chips &#8532; cup coconut flakes &#189; cup natural peanut butter, unsweetened &#8531; cup raw blue agave syrup (or sub raw honey) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 ounces dark chocolate (for dipping) Instructions In a large bowl, combine oats, flax seed, coconut and chocolate chips, and stir to combine. Add peanut butter, agave syrup and vanilla extract. Use a sturdy spoon to stir and completely combine the mixture. Refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. Using a small cookie scoop, scoop 1-inch balls of the mixture and roll with your hands into a round ball. Place the balls on a small cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Return to refrigerator for 15 minutes. Add the 4 ounces of dark chocolate to a small bowl. Microwave in 15 second bursts until melted, and stir until smooth. Don't overheat the chocolate, it will burn and be ruined! Once the chocolate is smooth, dip each ball halfway into the chocolate, and return to wax paper. Refrigerate for an additional 15 minutes to harden chocolate. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Enjoy! 3.2.2925   link]]></description>
		
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		<title>Chocolate Chip Graham Cracker Bars</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/chocolate-chip-graham-cracker-bars/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Jul 2015 01:31:22 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Bars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cookies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nuts]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4936</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[You can actually SEE how delicious these are.  You can see the powdery sugar stuck to the gooey, chocolaty graham cracker cookie.  You can SEE it, can&#8217;t you? And yup &#8211; they taste just as good as they look.  Maybe better. I broke all of the July-in-Kansas rules today and turned my oven on.  Yes, I turned my oven on even though it was exactly 900 degrees outside today.  And with the heat-index, it felt like 950 degrees.  But I just had to make these cookie bars&#8230;so I actually turned my air conditioner down a few degrees to offset the oven being on. Who does that? That&#8217;s not just a food-blogger thing, is it?  I mean, you have to think about these things.   Is it actually worth increasing my electric bill to make these cookies? Answer:  TOTALLY. I found this recipe on over at South Your Mouth.  Mandy has the best recipes &#8211; definitely check out her site if you haven&#8217;t yet.  I didn&#8217;t change anything except that I bought pre-crushed graham cracker crumbs and one box worked perfectly.  (Yay for laziness!) This recipe is very, very quick and easy.  All of the ingredients go into one bowl, the batter is pressed into a cake pan, and 25 minutes later they are done.  Cut and roll in sugar, and boom.  Yumness. I know these look super-sweet, but they really aren&#8217;t.  Even being rolled in powdered sugar (I KNOW) they just aren&#8217;t terribly sweet.  The graham cracker taste is prominent, and beyond that, they&#8217;re just soft and chocolaty. So good. Just don&#8217;t inhale the powdered sugar.  Not fun to have a coughing fit when you have a delicious cookie waiting to be eaten. Once you&#8217;ve coated the bars in sugar, you can store them in an air-tight container for a few days.  They&#8217;ll stay soft that way, and I actually like them better on the second day anyway, if you can make them last that long.  The flavors really come together when they are completely cool. They kind of taste like a big, chewy chocolate chip cookie, rolled in sugar. If you don&#8217;t want the nuts, just skip them.  But I totally think the nuts are an important part of the texture, so personally I like them in there. I used pecans and they were perfect. Hope you love these as much as we did.  They would make a great bake sale cookie &#8211; and they&#8217;re sturdy enough for lunch box treats, too. Enjoy!   Chocolate Chip Graham Cracker Bars &#160; Print Prep time 15 mins Cook time 30 mins Total time 45 mins &#160; These delicious bars are soft and dotted with chocolate and nuts. Rolled in powdered sugar, the graham cracker treats are just the right amount of sweet. Enjoy! Recipe slightly adapted from [South Your Mouth&#124;http://www.southyourmouth.com/2015/06/man-bars.html] Serves: 24-48 bars Ingredients 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (buy them pre-crushed, or pulse 3 sleeves (1 box) of crackers in your food processor.) 1 bag (11 or 12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans 2 cans (14 oz each) sweetened condensed milk 2 teaspoons vanilla extract &#189; teaspoon kosher salt 2-3 cups powdered sugar, for dusting Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Prepare a 9x13 pan by coating it with aluminum foil and cooking spray. Leave the foil draped over the sides to help remove the bars from the pan. Combine graham cracker crumbs, chocolate chips, nuts, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and salt in a large bowl. Use a heavy, sturdy spoon to completely combine. Don/t forget the dry crumbs at the bottom of the bowl. Pour the mixture into the baking pan. Spray your fingers with cooking spray, and use your hands to press the batter into an even layer. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until set. Allow to cool completely in the pan. Use the flaps of the foil to remove the cooled bars from the pan. Cut into squares. Pour powdered sugar into a large bowl. Toss each cookie into the sugar and toss to coat completely. Store in an airtight container for up to three days. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>Summer Sauvignon Blanc Party &#8211; Part Two</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/summer-sauvignon-blanc-party-part-two/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Jun 2015 16:50:04 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4929</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards. All opinions are 100% mine. A few weeks ago, I posted about planning a wine tasting party.  Did you miss it?  You can read more about it here.  The party went off without a hitch, and we had a great time.  The wine was delicious, the appetizers were tasty, and it was a fun night with my friends. The wine on our tasting menu consisted of: 2013 Sonoma-Cutrer Russian River Ranches Chardonnay, 2013 Sonoma-Cutrer Russian River Valley Pinot Nor, and 2014 Winemaker&#8217;s Release Sonoma-Cutrer Sauvignon Blanc.  Appetizers included Chicken Shashlik, a Garden Tomato Tart, and a Spinach and Gruyere Quiche.  All of the recipes can be found on the previous post, as well. I have to say, I am usually a Pinot Noir girl, but I really enjoyed all three varieties of wine from the party.  The Chardonnay was smooth and crisp, and paired just perfectly with the richness of the spinach and gruyere quiche.  I like to pair rich wines with rich foods &#8211; which sounds like overkill, but really they are very complementary and bring out the best in each other. The Pinot Noir was lovely and worked nicely with the garden tomato tart.  But I have to say that I was a big fan of the Sauvignon Blanc.  Maybe it&#8217;s because it was hot outside, and the chicken kabobs were perfectly seasoned and grilled, but the clean, vibrant flavors of the white wine was refreshing and delicious. After putting the party together, I&#8217;ve put together a quick list of ideas and suggestions if you are planning a party of your own: Plan to serve foods that are quick and easy to prepare, or that you can prepare in advance.  You want to take part in your party, not be stuck in the kitchen. &#160; Keep the food light and don&#8217;t over-do it.  To keep the focus on the wine, pick three of four appetizer dishes and serve them in small, bite-sized portions. &#160; In addition to your main appetizer dishes, be sure to include an assortment of cheese, fruits and olives, and crackers.  Palate cleansers are always appreciated. &#160; Keep your wine at the proper temperature.  Keep white on ice, if necessary. &#160; Use wine charms to identify glassware and help your guests keep track of their glass. &#160; Come prepared with just a bit of knowledge about each wine you&#8217;re serving  Have fun!  Invite your guests to bring their favorite wine and share with your guests.  Everyone loves to discover new, delicious wine! We had a great time at our wine-tasting girls night.  It was relaxing, and full of good food and amazing wine.  I&#8217;d highly recommend the Sonoma-Cutrer wine list for your next party.   I think our favorite pairing from the evening was the Sauvignon Blanc and the Chicken Shashlik, although with each new wine we sampled, it automatically became our new favorite. They&#8217;re that good. Have you hosted a wine-tasting before?  Do you have any particular favorite pairings?  I&#8217;d love to hear about them in the comments below. Want more from Sonoma-Cutrer? Check out their website, here:Sauvignon Blanc Find them on Twitter: @SonomaCutrer Read more about their winery and tours, here:  Winery Tour Keep up with them on Facebook: Sonoma-Cutrer Facebook And, on Instagram: Sonoma-Cutrer Instagram Sonoma-Cutrer InstagramSauvignon Blanc @SonomaCutrerWinery TourSonoma-Cutrer Facebook]]></description>
		
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		<title>Cream Cheese and Pepper Jelly Fillo Shells</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/cream-cheese-pepper-jelly-fillo-shells/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/cream-cheese-pepper-jelly-fillo-shells/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2015 03:30:37 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Appetizers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Party Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Summer Favorites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vegetarian]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Weeknight]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4897</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[So, how many social events have YOU been to this month?  Weddings, showers, graduations, anniversary parties, end of school year parties &#8211; holy cow, it&#8217;s a busy time of year!  We&#8217;ve hosted a few events at our home lately, and since we&#8217;ve been pulled a million different directions, it&#8217;s nice to have some quick and easy appetizer options at my fingertips. These little Fillo cups from my friends at Athens are amazing, and have saved me in an entertaining-pinch many, many times.  Fillo (or Phyllo or Filo, all are correct) means &#8220;leaf&#8221; in Greek &#8211; and is made from tissue-paper thin sheets of dough.  The shells are light and crispy, and the perfect match for both sweet desserts and savory bites. I have many AMAZING recipes using Athens Mini Fillo Shells, so stay tuned and I&#8217;ll share more soon. This particular recipe is a take on the old standby appetizer recipe that seems to appear at every party &#8211; you know, the block of cream cheese with a jar of pepper jelly spilled over the top?  And a bowl of crackers? Don&#8217;t get me wrong, it&#8217;s tasty &#8211; but let&#8217;s be honest &#8211; it&#8217;s not the prettiest appetizer I&#8217;ve ever seen.  Someone always manages to break a cracker off into the cheese and well, it&#8217;s just not appetizing.  Replicating the same idea into the Athens Mini Fillo Shells makes the recipe pretty AND delicious &#8211; addicting, actually.  They can be served warm or at room temperature, and you can even make them ahead of time! I love the contrast of the red pepper jelly and the white cream cheese &#8211; and to add another burst of color I often sprinkle some arugula or basil on top.  So cute. These only have to bake for about 10 minutes &#8211; just long enough to heat the shells and the cheese, and you&#8217;re done.  And if you don&#8217;t like the red pepper jelly, you can go with any variety of pepper jelly you like &#8211; jalapeno and green pepper are two other popular choices that are pretty easy to find in your grocery store. Be sure to check out Athens Foods or Phyllo.com for more recipe ideas.  You can find these mini shells in the freezer section at your grocery store &#8211; I&#8217;d recommend buying extra and keeping them in your freezer for an unexpected party.  They really are lifesavers! Have you tried Fillo Shells before?  What is your favorite way to serve them?  Let me know, I&#8217;m always looking for new ideas! Enjoy! Cream Cheese and Pepper Jelly Phyllo Cups &#160; Print Prep time 5 mins Cook time 12 mins Total time 17 mins &#160; Super quick and easy, this recipe dresses up the old standby. You can even prep the fillo shells and cream cheese in advance, and just pop them in the oven when your guests arrive. Enjoy! Serves: 30 appetizers Ingredients 2 boxes Athens Mini Fillo Shells (30 shells) 8 ounces cream cheese 1 small jar red pepper jelly Instructions Put cream cheese in freezer for 30-60 minutes for easy cutting. (Not required, but helpful.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place fillo cups on baking sheet. Use a knife to cut the bar of cream cheese into 30 cubes. I did this by cutting the bar into 4 large pieces, and then cut each smaller piece into 8 cubes. Place a cube of cream cheese into each cup. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven, and use a spoon to carefully flatten and spread the cream cheese inside each cup. Top with a small spoonful of jelly, and then bake for another 2-4 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a couple of minutes. Enjoy! 3.2.2925 This post was sponsored by my friends at Athens Foods.  All opinions are 100% mine.]]></description>
		
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		<title>Summer Sauvignon Blanc White Wine Party</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/summer-sauvignon-blanc-white-wine-party/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Jun 2015 03:17:40 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Appetizers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Beverages]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4904</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine. I am fortunate to have a small, tight-knit circle of girlfriends.  Our friendship has grown over the past 15 years, starting as co-workers and continuing even after everyone has gone their separate ways to new jobs.  They&#8217;re the kind of friends that get your inside jokes, but we can also go a few weeks without talking and pick up just where we left off. Good, good friends. We try to organize &#8220;girls nights&#8221; a few times a year, and because we are all so busy with kids, work and life &#8211; we have to plan ahead and get the evening on the calendar far in advance.  In fact, I&#8217;m already planning our get together for later in the summer.  I am putting together a wine tasting party specifically for 2014 Sonoma-Cutrer Sauvignon Blanc. Now, we love our wine &#8211; wine is usually the centerpiece of our evenings &#8211; we typically bring a bottle of wine and an appetizer, and we always have a great time. This time around, I&#8217;ll be hosting by providing a menu of appetizers to complement our wine, and we&#8217;ll all taste and enjoy this crisp summer beverage.  I am a big fan of Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay, but this is my first go-round with the Sauvignon Blanc. My first impression of the wine was that it was very light, crisp with just a hint of tropical fruit and with a hint of grapefruit and lime.  It was soft, not bitter or acidic, and very smooth.  Immediately a menu came to mind &#8211; and my party planning was in full swing. If you&#8217;re planning a wine tasting, make sure you taste the wine first!  Your palate will tell you what to serve with your wine &#8211; and it doesn&#8217;t matter what you find on the internet.  Serve what you like, and you really can&#8217;t go wrong. I&#8217;m starting with a chicken shashlik.  These skewers of char-grilled chicken are marinated in tomato, garlic and cilantro, and are a perfect contrast to the clean, crisp wine.  Plus, they&#8217;re served on skewers and are the perfect appetizer and finger food. And, because my tomatoes will be lovely when the party finally gets here, I&#8217;m also planning on a garden tomato tart.  The acidity of the tomatoes and creamy, saltiness of the mozzarella cheese will pair perfectly with the citrus undertones of the sauvignon blanc. Finally, we&#8217;ll round out the appetizers with a spinach and Gruyere quiche.  Quiche is a perfect party appetizer, because it can be served warm or at room temperature.  The Gruyere cheese is just rich enough to marry the flavors in the wine &#8211; and bring out the mandarin and passion fruit undertones. We&#8217;ll round out the table with a nice bread, some cheese and olives, and an assortment of crackers.  Wine tastings are a great way to introduce your guests to your favorite wines, try something new, and have some fun doing it! I&#8217;m excited to introduce Sonoma-Cutrer wines to my friends, and upon reading about all of the different types of wine they offer on their website, I discovered that they offer a really enticing membership opportunity at Club Cutrer.  Between the exclusive wine shipments, membership pricing, access to limited editions and member events, I&#8217;m ready to sign up! If you&#8217;d like to learn more about Sonoma-Cutrer, you can follow them at @sonomacutrer  on Instragam and @SonomaCutrer on Twitter &#8211; use #SonomaCutrer.  They also offer tours and tastings at their winery in Windsor, CA &#8211; and I&#8217;m about ready to hop on a plane.  It&#8217;s a really beautiful place! Make sure you check back in for my follow up post &#8211; I&#8217;ll have some fun pictures of the food, the wine and our evening.  Can&#8217;t wait to share it with you all!  In the meantime, check out the recipes I&#8217;m planning below. Enjoy! Chicken Shashlik &#160; Print Ingredients 2 large plum tomatoes, coarsely grated on a box grater 2 garlic cloves, minced &#189; cup pure olive oil &#189; cup chopped cilantro 4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch pieces Vegetable oil, for brushing Salt and freshly ground pepper Instructions In a large bowl, combine the grated tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and cilantro. Add the chicken and coat thoroughly with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Light a grill. Thread the chicken onto 8 metal skewers, leaving a small space between each piece. Brush the chicken with vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill over moderate heat, turning occasionally, until lightly charred and just cooked through, about 15 minutes. 3.2.2925 Garden Tomato Tart &#160; Print Ingredients Filling: 8 oz sliced mozzarella 2 large, very rip tomatoes, cored and cut into thin slices salt and freshly ground pepper 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil Tart Dough: &#8531; cup fresh basil leaves 1 medium garlic clove 1 and &#188; cups all purpose flour &#189; teaspoon kosher salt 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes 4-5 Tablespoons ice water Instructions Place the basil and garlic in the work bowl of a food processor. Process, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until finely chopped. Add flour and salt; pulse to combine. Add butter. Pulse about 10 times, or until the mixture resembles pea-sized crumbs. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing several times after each addition. After 4 tablespoons water have been added, process the dough for several seconds to see if the mixture forms a ball. If not, add remaining water. Process until dough forms into a ball. Remove dough from processor. Flatten the dough into a 5-inch disk. Wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (The dough can be placed in a zipper-lock plastic bag and refrigerated for several days or frozen for 1 month. If frozen, defrost the dough in the refrigerator.) Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Lay the dough over the tart pan, and press it into a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Trim the edges of the dough. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line the bottom of the tart shell with mozzarella. Arrange the tomatoes over the cheese in a ring around the edge of the tart and a second ring in the center. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the cheese has started to brown in spots, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on a rack for at least 5 minutes before slicing.(The tart may be covered and kept at room temperature for 6 hours.) 3.2.2925 Spinach and Gruyere Quiche &#160; Print Ingredients 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 medium yellow onions, diced &#190; teaspoon kosher salt &#189; teaspoon black pepper 1 cup fresh spinach, chopped 4 extra large eggs &#190; cup half-and-half 8 ounces Gruyère, grated &#8539; teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 store-bought frozen pie crust (or make your own!) Instructions Heat oven to 375° F. In a large skillet, over medium-low heat, heat the oil. Add the onions, &#189; teaspoon of the salt, and &#188; teaspoon of the pepper. Cover and cook until the onions are softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the spinach and cook, covered, for 2 minutes more. Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs and half-and-half. Stir in the Gruyère, nutmeg, the remaining salt and pepper, and the onion mixture. Place the pie crust on a foil-lined baking sheet. Scrape the egg mixture into the pie crust; it will be very full. Bake until the filling is set and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve. 3.2.2925 Want more from Sonoma-Cutrer? Check out their website, here:Sauvignon Blanc  Find them on Twitter: @SonomaCutrer Read more about their winery and tours, here:  Winery Tour Keep up with them on Facebook: Sonoma-Cutrer Facebook And, on Instagram: Sonoma-Cutrer Instagram]]></description>
		
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		<title>Pina Colada Poke Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/pina-colada-poke-cake/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 May 2015 02:32:37 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Coconut]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Now Trending]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Summer Favorites]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4873</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Before we jump into this Pina Colada Poke Cake, I just want to take a quick second to say Happy Memorial Day!  I hope you&#8217;ve all had a lovely long weekend full of family and friends.  And while I love that Memorial day signifies the first weekend of summer for many of us, the true meaning of the day isn&#8217;t lost on me, and my thoughts are will all of you who have lost a loved one while serving our country. My weekend was spent celebrating my dear, dear cousin Emily&#8217;s wedding, so after the blur of the rehearsal dinner, making cupcakes for her wedding, and then her actual wedding, we were already worn out before the weekend really even started.  If you follow my Instagram account, you probably saw a few pictures from the occasion.  It was a beautiful wedding, and chock full of celebration, family and lots of love.  Great way to kick off summer, for sure.  Congratulations again, my Emmy-Poo! Since it&#8217;s been such a busy weekend, I thought I&#8217;d share this quick and easy recipe with you &#8211; because if you are like me, you are cooking/baking/grilling/cleaning-up-the-kitchen AGAIN&#8217;d out.  Sometimes life calls for an easy dessert, and this is it. I make a lot of poke cakes, which is a bit strange because they start with cake mixes and I&#8217;m usually very anti-cake mix, but again &#8211; sometimes life calls for it.  I have made the cakes from scratch before, and honestly, you can&#8217;t really tell the difference much in a poke cake.  When the cake is infused with the filling mixture and chilled, it kind of takes on an entirely different texture anyway &#8211; so might as well save some time and go with the box mix.  (Did I actually just say that?!?) If you&#8217;ve never had a poke cake, they are just what they sound like &#8211; a cake with holes poked into it, which is then smothered with a filling &#8211; usually a sweetened condensed milk mixture &#8211; and then topped with a whipped topping.  They&#8217;re kind of magical, in a poke-cake kind of way&#8230; This one is very, very easy.  You will need to find cream of coconut, but it&#8217;s easily found in the drink-mix aisle at the grocery store.  Coconut extract is sold at my grocery store, but I usually buy it at my baking store instead because that&#8217;s when I think about it.  A little goes a long way, so don&#8217;t be concerned about the small bottle. I hope you love this one.  Have you had a Poke Cake before?  What&#8217;s your favorite kind?  Leave me a comment below and let me know. Enjoy! Pina Colada Poke Cake &#160; Print Prep time 15 mins Cook time 25 mins Total time 40 mins &#160; This chilled icebox cake is full of summer flavors and makes any summer gathering delicious. And, it's super easy! Serves: 12-16 servings Ingredients Cake: 1 box butter or yellow cake mix, plus ingredients to make cake (usually 3 eggs, butter or oil and water) 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk 15 ounce can cream of coconut (can be found by drink mixes in grocery store) 15 ounce can crushed pineapple, drained. (but save the juice) Topping: 2 cups heavy whipping cream &#189; cup powdered/confectioners sugar 1 teaspoon coconut extract Coconut and maraschino cherries for garnish Instructions Cake directions: Preheat oven and make cake as directed on box. Do not over bake. Drain the pineapple. Reserve the juice and the drained pineapple. Mix together sweetened condensed milk, pineapple juice and cream of coconut. Whisk until completely combined, and set aside. Remove from oven and allow to cool for five minutes. Using the end of a wooden spoon, poke holes all over the top of the cake, about an inch apart. Pour the coconut mixture over the top of the cake, and spread around to fill holes. Then, spread the drained pineapple over the top of the cake. Refrigerate cake until completely chilled, about two hours. Topping: In a clean glass bowl, beat the whipping cream with a hand mixer until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar and coconut extract, and beat until stiff peaks form. Smooth whipped cream over the top of the cake. Garnish with coconut and maraschino cherries. Chill until ready to serve. Store, covered and chilled for up to three days. Enjoy! 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>A Fairy Party</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/fairy-party/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 23 May 2015 23:36:08 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Entertaining]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4837</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Ready for a photo-heavy post?  &#8216;Cause that&#8217;s what you&#8217;re gonna get.  It&#8217;s Fairy Party time! Last weekend, my daughter Mia turned six years old.  For those of you who have been Lemon Sugar readers for a while, you know that my daughter and my niece were born just 17 hours apart, so my sister and I always combine their family party.  I look forward to planning this party every year, and we&#8217;ve had some fun themes in years past.  This year we went with a fairy-inspired theme, and it was super cute. The color scheme was (obviously) lime green and lavender, with touches of gold.  The  cake was a fun-fetti version of my five-layer celebration cake.  I tinted the vanilla buttercream with Americolor gel in leaf green and violet, and used the same frosting technique.  I wish I had a better picture of the top of the cake, because it was a really pretty white and purple swirled effect. The cake toppers came from my favorite store, Sweet! Baking Supply. The chocolate cupcakes were so pretty in the aluminum, lavender colored liners.  The contrast of the purple, chocolate and white was fun &#8211; I used a 2D tip with a draped swirl method to get the cloud effect for the frosting. The beverage table was fun this year, too.  I went with an Italian Soda bar, complete with Torani syrups, sparkling water, heavy cream or half &#38; half, whipped topping and maraschino cherries.  So fun, and my guests always love it.  Stay tuned for a recipe post on these in the next few days. Presentation is always the most challenging part for me when presenting an Italian Soda bar, because there are a lot of components to put together.  This year, I purchased heavy cream and half and half in glass pint jars, and kept them on ice.  A larger ice bucket was accessible at the back of the table, and I put the cherries in a cute little mason jar for a prettier presentation.  I also provided plenty of towels to help with spills and drips. For the dessert menu, I went with strawberry limeade cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream, red velvet cake balls, chocolate cake balls, cosmic brownies, my Mom&#8217;s chocolate chip cookies, and an assortment of candies and goodies from my friends over at Weaver Nut Sweets &#38; Snacks. Weaver Nuts Sweets &#38; Snacks has just about everything you could ever want for a party, and it&#8217;s not just nuts.  They have baking supplies, chocolates, coffee and tea, and more &#8211; but I think my favorite thing about them is that you can buy candy by color.  PERFECT for candy tables, weddings, graduations &#8211; and fairy parties! For our part, they provided adorable gumballs in green and purple, rock candy suckers, purple and green chocolate pieces (like M&#38;M&#8217;s) and green and purple sour gummy bears.  They also sent these awesome chocolate-covered pretzel grahams, and a delicious trail mix.  Thanks to Weaver Nuts Sweets &#38; Snacks for a great addition to my party!! I also have to send a HUGE shout-out to my very creative and crafty aunts, Kaye and Mary.  They were responsible for many of the decorative touches for the party &#8211; they made the incredible table cloths, but they didnt&#8217; stop there.  They crafted fairies out of clay, they made wreaths with fairies and flowers attached, they made adorable fairy houses out of mason jars, and even made signs to line my driveway.  They thought of everything (they always do) and I can&#8217;t thank them enough. The aunts also made fairy wings for all of the kids, complete with wands, ribbon headbands and a dragon hat for my nephew.  The girls loved them, and they all got to take them home as a party favor.  Adorable. There were presents.  My family was generous and the girls just loved all of the thoughtful gifts.  My family is amazing, and I am always so thankful that they make time for yet another crazy party, and make the girls feel so special.  Thanks, fam!  ♥ The weather here has been unseasonably cool and wet, so we had to abandon our original water slide plans for a dragon bouncy house instead.  The kids always love these, and it makes the party extra special. My aunts also brought this beautiful bouquet of Irises and Peonies, and I think it was my favorite thing about the whole party.  It&#8217;s been on my counter since the party, and I&#8217;m still enjoying it, so I had to share it with all of you. Mia and Ruby say thank you for reading about their fairy party.  Happy Birthday to my very favorite six-year-olds, and here&#8217;s to many more!]]></description>
		
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		<title>Snickerdoodle Cupcakes</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/snickerdoodle-cupcakes/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2015 02:44:27 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cinnamon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cupcakes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Frosting]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4824</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Hey, ya&#8217;ll!  It&#8217;s been a little bit since we talked last, no?  So much has happened in the last month.  I&#8217;ve been sick, twice.  Like, fever-bronchitis sick.  We got a puppy .  The girls had two weeks of double dance classes, followed by recital.  Weekends have been full of family gatherings and weekdays have been full of yard-work, work-work, and lots of coughing. Life. I feel like I&#8217;m always writing about how busy we are, but I don&#8217;t mean to.  Everyone is busy, and my busy is no different than yours.  I&#8217;m just missing my free time, I guess &#8211; but I&#8217;m mostly missing blogging and baking!  When life picks up the pace a bit and we&#8217;re feeling over-scheduled &#8211; unfortunately the blog has to give a bit.  But you guys are great, you keep coming back and commenting &#8211; asking questions and looking up recipes from the archives.  THANKS for being awesome. So, lets talk about these cuppies, okay?  Okay. Snickerdoodle cookies are one of my all-time faves.  I love the soft, pillowy sugar cookie infused with warm, spicy cinnamon.  Looove it.  This cupcake is just more of what makes a Snickerdoodle awesome.  The frosting is a standard vanilla buttercream with a healthy dose of cinnamon mixed in &#8211; which makes these even more appealing.  They&#8217;re easy. I love to top the frosting with an extra sprinkle of cinnamon and then a generous dash of turbinado sugar &#8211; it makes the cupcakes shimmer a bit and makes them a bit fancy. Fancy cupcakes just taste better, don&#8217;t they? Well &#8211; maybe I should re-phrase.  Fancy HOMEMADE cupcakes just taste better. Really, the only thing I would change about these cupcakes would be the addition of some color &#8211; probably just a different color cupcake liner would solve the problem, but as you can see, they are a bit beige .  Which is totally cool for a Snickerdoodle, but still. These would also be pretty (and fancy!) with a cinnamon stick as garnish.  Or, oooh- maybe a cinnamon stick with a little washi flag on top?  A colorful washi flag?  Yup. I hope you love this recipe &#8211; it&#8217;s super easy!  You don&#8217;t even need much free time to whip them up &#8211; so they&#8217;re a GREAT busy-week cupcake! Enjoy! Snickerdoodle Cupcakes Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 30 mins Serves: 24 cupcakes These cupcakes will remind you of your favorite Snickerdoodle cookie. Quick and easy, these cupcakes will be done and ready to eat in less than an hour!]]></description>
		
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		<title>Lemon Tart with Blackberry Syrup</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/lemon-tart-blackberry-syrup/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/lemon-tart-blackberry-syrup/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2015 03:17:42 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Bars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Front Page]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lemon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Other Desserts]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4809</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I just about had a breakdown yesterday.  After a stressful day, I began my nightly ritual of opening the girls backpacks, sorting their papers, reading notes from their teachers and repacking for the next morning.  It&#8217;s during this attempt at organization that I take note of important dates and update my calendar. Between field trips, field day, music programs, extra dance classes before recital, birthday parties and softball practice (because you know, we coach both girls&#8217; teams in our &#8220;free&#8221; time) my calendar was suddenly very, VERY full.  Like, panic-inducing, how-the-heck-are-we-going-to-do-this, full.  FULL. I know this isn&#8217;t earth-shattering to many of you, we all juggle our own schedules, kids, pets, careers &#8211; but man, it was just about enough to do me in.  And I&#8217;m not one to complain about being busy &#8211; I thrive on it.  I love to be busy.  For me, busy represents a full, happy life. But, man. Is it bad that my first thought is, &#8220;When am I going to have time to bake?  To blog?&#8221;  I need those things (and you guys) in my life, so lets just say that I&#8217;ve recently invested in some good photography equipment that will let me photograph my recipes at 2am if need be.  Who needs sleep, right? So yes, life is a bit busy right now, but I promise I will do my best to stay with you during the next few weeks and share as much as I can.  And really, since I bake when I&#8217;m stressed, I might even blog more than usual.  You know, to simplify things.  Makes sense, no? Sensible or not, this exact tart was the result of a late-night &#8220;stress-bake.&#8221;  My latest copy of America&#8217;s Test Kitchen was staring at me one night, so it just happened.   And I&#8217;m glad it did because it is just fantastic.  Clearly I&#8217;m a lemon-fan (the fruit is the namesake for my blog, after all) but I actually find it pretty difficult to find a good lemon recipe.  Since lemon recipes always rely heavily on egg yolks, it&#8217;s hard to find a lemony dessert that doesn&#8217;t taste like eggs.  This one, though, is the perfect balance of tart and sweet. And because the perfect lemon tart wasn&#8217;t enough, I whipped up a fresh blackberry syrup reduction to drizzle over the top.  (And maybe I made blackberry martinis after that, but a stress-martini session is on an entirely different level than a stress-baking session, so we&#8217;ll just stick with the baking portion here okthankyouverymuch.) Anyway. I could (and did) drink the blackberry syrup straight.  Amazing.  Like, best-thing-EVER, amazing.  I even made my girls a blackberry italian soda with a bit of cream and holy cow.  Even if you don&#8217;t like lemon, just try the syrup and find something, ANYTHING, to drizzle it on.  Pancakes, waffles, toast, whatever.  So. GOOD. Because this is an America&#8217;s Test Kitchen recipe, you know it&#8217;s going to be amazing, and it certainly didn&#8217;t disappoint.  Their recipe is fantastic and self-explanatory, but here are a few of my tips that I found useful while I was making it: I used a rectangle tart pan, but if you have one of the 9-inch pans, that works too. A candy thermometer is very helpful to achieve the perfect consistency.  They are relatively inexpensive and I use mine all of the time. Don&#8217;t overbake your crust.  Go for a pale, golden brown color.  Overbaking will yield a crispy crust, I aimed for soft and crumbly. Dust with some powdered sugar for a pretty effect. Make sure your dough is thoroughly chilled before rolling, and roll it quickly.  It&#8217;s a very delicate dough. Cut it into triangles.  It&#8217;s pretty. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.  Enjoy! Lemon Tart with Blackberry Syrup &#160; Print Prep time 2 hours 30 mins Cook time 60 mins Total time 3 hours 30 mins &#160; Beautifully simple, this lemon tart is smooth, silky and perfectly tangy. The crumbly shell cuts the sweetness &#38; the blackberry syrup dresses it all up! Recipe source: From America's Test Kitchen with the addition of Blackberry Syrup by Lemon Sugar Serves: 8-12 servings Ingredients Tart Shell: 1 large egg yolk 1 Tablespoon heavy cream &#189; teaspoon vanilla extract 1 and &#188; cups all-purpose flour &#8532; cup confectioners (powdered) sugar &#188; teaspoon salt 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into &#188;" pieces and chilled Filling: 2 large eggs plus 7 large yolks 1 cup granulated sugar &#188; cup grated lemon zest &#8532; cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (will need about 4 lemons) pinch of salt 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces 3 Tablespoons heavy cream Blackberry syrup: 1 pound fresh blackberries &#189; cup sugar (or more, to taste) 2 Tablespoons water Juice from one lemon Instructions For syrup: In a medium saucepan, bring the blackberries, sugar, water, and lemon juice to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until berries are falling apart and sauce has thickened just a bit, 10-15 minutes Strain the sauce through a fine mesh sieve, pushing to extract all of the liquid from the berries. Transfer to the refrigerator; sauce will thicken as it chills. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. For crust/shell: In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolk, cream and vanilla. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar and salt. Pulse to combine. Add chilled butter to food processor, and pulse until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Don't overpulse, you'll melt the butter. With processor on low, add the egg mixture until the dough just comes together. Turn dough out on to a large sheet of plastic wrap. Form the dough into a disc, and wrap with plastic. Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. After chilling, allow the dough to sit on the countertop for about 10 minutes before rolling. Lightly flour your counter, and then roll the dough into a shape 2-inches bigger than your tart pan on all sides. Work quickly. If the dough gets too warm, return to refrigerator. Slide the rolled dough on to a cookie sheet, and return to the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Transfer the chilled dough to your tart pan. Loosely drape it over the top, and use your hands to gently form it to the shape of your pan. Cut the edges by rolling your rolling pin over the top of the tart pan. Discard scraps, or use them to patch holes or imperfections in your crust. Aim for a distinct, squared bottom to your crust, at a thickness of about &#188; inch. Use scraps to reinforce any thin areas. Lightly cover shaped dough and tart pan with plastic wrap, and return to refrigerator once more for another 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). Place tart pan on to a larger cookie sheet. Spray a large piece of aluminum foil with cooking spray, and press, sprayed side down, into the crust. Take care not to smash your chilled crust. Fill aluminum foil with pie weights (I use dry beans). Bake until shell is a pale golden brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and remove foil and weights. Prepare filling immediately, as shell must be warm when filling is added. Filling: Keep oven at 375 degrees (F). In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk together eggs and egg yolks. Add sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt, and again whisk to combine. Fit pan with a candy thermometer and place pan on the stovetop. Over medium heat, add the butter and stir constantly until the mixture begins to thicken and reaches 170 degrees. This will take about 5 minutes. Immediately, pour mixture through a fine-mesh strainer set over a large bowl. Use a rubber spatula to help the curd through the sieve. Add cream to strained curd and whisk to combine. Pour the warm curd into your tart shell. Place filled shell back on the cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until the center is just slightly jiggly. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Remove the tart pan (carefully!!) Garnish with a dusting of confectioners sugar, fresh blackberries, and a drizzle of blackberry syrup. Enjoy! 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Brown Sugar Crumb Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/brown-sugar-crumb-cake-2/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2015 17:46:56 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Breakfast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Giveaway]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4794</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[​ I&#8217;m not sure that there&#8217;s anything better than waking up to the smell of this cake.  On a lazy Saturday morning, the smell of cinnamon and brown sugar heavy in the air and a pot of coffee percolating on my counter top are sure to get my family moving.  It works, every single time. We have to talk about those crumbs though &#8211; those ENORMOUS, brown-sugar and butter crumbs.  I could eat them, I have eaten them, right off the top of the cake.  My girls always eat the crumb topping first, and I can&#8217;t say that I blame them. I recently discovered a new product at my grocery store that I just have to tell you all about.  C&#38;H® Pourable Golden Brown Sugar has come in handy in my kitchen so many times.    It is packaged in a convenient flip-top dispenser that makes measuring out brown sugar for recipes neater, without having to pack the sugar.  It&#8217;s a pourable brown sugar, so it doesn&#8217;t clump or harden, and it has a recloseable, flip-top lid that keeps the sugar fresh.   It&#8217;s SO convenient! We&#8217;ve even started keeping an extra canister handy, my girls love to sprinkle it over their oatmeal and fruit, and my husband puts it in his tea occasionally.  But mostly, I love that it&#8217;s easy to use in baking &#8211; it&#8217;s a cup-to-cup measurement ratio to regular brown sugar.  So, if a recipe calls for a cup of packed brown sugar, you would just replace it with a cup of pourable brown sugar. Easy! You can find C&#38;H® Pourable Golden Brown Sugar in your baking aisle at the grocery store right next to all of the other sugar.   Visit their website (here) for coupons, recipes and retail locations.  Or, if you live in the eastern half of the U.S., check out C&#38;H®’s sister brand, Domino® Sugar (click here).I encourage you to give it a try &#8211; it&#8217;s saved me time and effort a number of times.  And for those of you who are wondering, you can&#8217;t tell the difference at all. Back to the crumb cake &#8211; we should talk quickly about the method used for the topping, because it&#8217;s a bit different than a traditional crumb topping.  I have come to prefer this method because it&#8217;s easy and makes these big, beautiful crumbs that just can&#8217;t be replicated with the traditional method. First, you dissolve sugar in melted butter.  Then, you stir in flour with a rubber spatula until the butter/sugar mixture just barely absorbs the flour, and you pour the whole thing out onto a cookie sheet to &#8220;dry&#8221; slightly while you make the cake batter.  That&#8217;s it!  No pastry cutters, no super-cold butter, and no rushing.  It&#8217;s easy and I think it makes the best crumb topping I&#8217;ve ever had. Hope this post helped you out today.  I love to discover new products to make things easier in the kitchen and of course to share them with you all.  I just made a delicious cinnamon bun recipe with my new brown sugar, and I have big plans for a brown sugar creme brulee that&#8217;s just SCREAMING for this as a topping.  I&#8217;ll share it with you, soon! What’s your favorite way to use brown sugar? Tell me in the comments to enter for a chance to win a $100 VISA gift card! Entry Instructions: No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including a disclosure that your Tweet is a sweepstakes entry and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older (or nineteen (19) years of age or older in Alabama and Nebraska). Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 2 business days to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 4/6/2015 – 5/14/2015 Be sure to visit Domino and C&#38;H Sugar’s brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts! Brown Sugar Crumb Cake &#160; Print Prep time 25 mins Cook time 30 mins Total time 55 mins &#160; Brown sugar is the star of this indulgent breakfast cake. Big crumb topping and a sweet glaze will make this breakfast treat feel like dessert! Recipe adapted slightly from Damn Delicious. Serves: 12-16 servings Ingredients Cake: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon baking soda &#189; teaspoon salt &#189; cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature 1 and &#188; cups brown sugar, packed 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup sour cream Topping: 1 cup brown sugar, packed &#189; cup sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon &#189; teaspoon salt 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted 2 and &#189; cups all-purpose flour Glaze: &#189; cup brown sugar, packed &#189; teaspoon vanilla extract Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Prepare a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Set aside. Make crumb topping: in a medium bowl, combine sugars, cinnamon and salt. Add melted butter, and whisk to combine. Add flour and combine with a rubber spatula until just moistened. Pour mixture on to a baking sheet and allow it to dry while you make the cake. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time until well combined. Beat in vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the sour cream and the dry ingredients alternately in 3 parts, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, beating just until incorporated. Pour the batter in to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the crumb topping, gently pressing the crumbs into the batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. To make the glaze, combine brown sugar, vanilla and 2 tablespoons water. Whisk until smooth. When the cake is done, cool for 10 minutes and drizzle the glaze evenly over the top. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>American Kitchen Stories</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/american-kitchen-stories/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2015 16:00:26 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Giveaway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Home]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personal]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4781</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[When I think back on my childhood, then to my college years, and now to my adult life (I use the term adult loosely), many of my happiest and most vivid memories took place in a kitchen.  When I think of family gatherings, I&#8217;m always transported to a kitchen.  When I was a teenager, we had a phone with a long white cord in our kitchen &#8211; and I spent many nights laying on my kitchen floor talking to my now husband. On Sundays, all of my siblings gather at my parents&#8217; house for dinner.  The first thing I do when I walk into their house is saunter into the kitchen to check out what Mom is making for dinner. In my own home, our kitchen is the center of everything.  We eat, do homework, talk about our day, and even this blog is written right on my kitchen island, several times a week. My point?  My kitchen is the center of my home.  We spend so much time there, live so much of our lives there, that the kitchen has become a very special place for me.   Even on days when my sink is full of dishes, when my newest recipe has flopped, and my daughter is fighting homework with every ounce of her being, my kitchen is the center of our day-to-day being.  We have hard conversations there.  We laugh there.  We eat delicious food there, and we celebrate there.  The American Kitchen is so much more than a functional room for food preparation.  It really is the heart of our home. GE Appliances have been in American homes since 1905. For a hundred and ten years, GE has been a part of the changing ways people live, play, cook, celebrate, and shape family life at home in America.  My friends over at GE have developed a series of documentaries called Our American Kitchen. Every kitchen has story &#8211; I&#8217;m sure yours does &#8211; and these documentaries explore how real GE appliance owners, as genuine representatives of Americans and the American experience, are living their lives in their kitchens. These documentaries have really touched me &#8211; the human experience is vastly different for every single one of us, but there are also so many things that tie us together.  Something as normal as our kitchens and the moments lived IN our kitchens are part of our foundation and for me, comprise the bulk of my happiest memories. The kitchen in my first apartment, back when I could barely afford rent, was stocked full of noodle packets and boxed macaroni and cheese, but reminds me of a time when I was fearless.  It reminds me of a time when I was figuring out what I was going to do with my life, how I was going to handle the grown-up thing. Kitchens are a bit magical like that.  Think back to all of the kitchens in your life.  What memories do they conjure up? I&#8217;d love to hear some of your kitchen stories &#8211; and while you&#8217;re at it, head over to GEAppliances.com and check them out.  Stay tuned for an upcoming post with more information about the Our American Kitchen documentary series.  It would be fun to see some your kitchen pictures too &#8211; send them to me on Twitter or Instagram, and use #OurAmericanKitchen! Share a kitchen memory of your own in the comments below to enter for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card! Entry Instructions: No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post &#160; &#160; Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post &#160; &#160; Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post &#160; &#160; For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. &#160;         This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older (or nineteen (19) years of age or older in Alabama and Nebraska). Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 2 business days to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 4/1/15 – 6/30/15. Be sure to visit the G.E. Appliances brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!]]></description>
		
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		<item>
		<title>Strawberry Supreme Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/strawberry-supreme-cake/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/strawberry-supreme-cake/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Mar 2015 04:12:24 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Easter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Frosting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Strawberry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Summer Favorites]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4763</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I am a cookbook junkie.  I have them all.  Yes &#8211; I&#8217;m pretty sure that I own every cookbook published after 2009. &#8230; Ok, this is obviously not true.  It&#8217;s not possible.  But judging by my overflowing bookcases, the baskets on my hearth and the stacks on my coffee table &#8211; I&#8217;m pretty sure I have most of them.  Especially if they have anything to do with baking or desserts or my blogging friends.  I might need an intervention. But see what I&#8217;m REALLY trying to do is to convince my husband that I need a photography studio-slash-prop storage-slash cookbook storage room.  It would be bright and airy, mostly white and right off my kitchen for easy access.   This seems far more logical than a wood shop to store all of HIS stuff in, right? I thought so.  You&#8217;re my people.  You get me. If he gets a wood shop, that means he&#8217;ll just have to fill it up with new, expensive tools.   By comparison, food blog props and cookbooks are terribly economical.  It just makes good financial sense, really.  Right?  Yes. I&#8217;m not saying he can&#8217;t have his wood shop ever, but c&#8217;mon.  Priorities. My point, though, is that one of my newest cookbook acquisitions has proven to be a good one.  A reaaaalllly good one. Baked Occasions by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito is chock full of fabulous recipes.  The sprinkle cake on the front cover drew me in, and I earmarked the first seven recipes &#8211; until I realized that clearly I just want to make everything in this book. I started with the Strawberry Supreme Cake.  Good, good choice.  This is a real strawberry cake, not one of those box mix, fake-pink cakes.  The cake is light, has the most tender crumb I&#8217;ve ever seen, and manages to capture all of the flavors of the best strawberry-shortcake you&#8217;ve ever had. But it&#8217;s not shortcake, it&#8217;s a cake-cake.  Does that even make sense? The cake is filled with whipped cream and chopped strawberries.  The frosting is buttery, flour-based and just sweet enough to work.  It&#8217;s definitely not a quick and easy cake to whip up in a few minutes, but it&#8217;s so worth every second. I come bearing some tips for you.  I REALLY don&#8217;t want you to be discouraged by the ingredient list or the lengthy directions &#8211; it&#8217;s not that bad.  I would definitely start by pre-measuring all of your]]></description>
		
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		<item>
		<title>Blueberry Breakfast Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/blueberry-breakfast-cake/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Mar 2015 02:38:37 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Bars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Breakfast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Header]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quick]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4739</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[This blueberry breakfast cake is reminiscent of a shortcake, slightly sweet and bursting with fresh blueberries and undertones of crisp lemon.  The crunch from the turbinado sugar lends a satisfying crackle, and reminds you that breakfast is meant to be delicious. Hi everyone!  I&#8217;m back!  Not that I was really gone, but I took a bit of a self-prescribed break from the blog last week.  My kids were sick, I was sick, my kids were sick again &#8211; it was just a really crummy week.  I didn&#8217;t have much time or energy to be in the kitchen, so I decided just to observe Spring Break and take. a. break. It&#8217;s funny though, when I don&#8217;t blog I really miss it.  I found myself itching to try some new recipes, and it took all I had not to force it.  Fortunately, we&#8217;re finally all feeling better, my kids are back in school and I&#8217;m back to baking up a storm.  TONS of new recipes coming your way &#8211; because if I can&#8217;t be in the kitchen, I&#8217;m definitely thinking about it! I&#8217;ve mentioned before that we really struggle with breakfast at our house.  Mornings are SO hectic &#8211; our schedules require us all to leave at different times, so it just feels like a domino-effect of chaos every morning.  If I don&#8217;t have everything ready to go and just so &#8211; it&#8217;s just a mess.  My oldest daughter is not a breakfast eater, my youngest only wants yogurt, and me?  I can usually find a smooshed granola bar in the bottom of my purse to eat on the way to work.  My husband has it easy &#8211; he gets to escape before the girls even get out of bed.  For all I know, he&#8217;s whipping up quiche and fresh berries before he leaves for work. So, my long-winded point is that it&#8217;s always appreciated when I have something quick and easy ready to go in the mornings.  The girls both LOVE this cake, and I can nuke it in the microwave for 10 seconds and give them a glass of milk and we&#8217;re set. My favorite part of this cake is the crackly sugar topping.  I use a generous sprinkling of turbinado sugar, and it makes it extra special.  If you&#8217;re feeling especially aberrant, try a little pat of butter on top. If you&#8217;re gonna eat cake for breakfast, you might as well do it right. Plus, coffee.  This and a mug of piping hot coffee? Yay.  Breakfast. I&#8217;ve used fresh and frozen berries for this recipe, and both work perfectly.  I&#8217;ve even used the smaller wild blueberries &#8211; and they might be my favorite.  They&#8217;re just a little bit tart, which I loooove. If you aren&#8217;t a lemon person, feel free to omit the lemon zest.  It&#8217;s not an overpowering flavor, but you can definitely taste it &#8211; I like the freshness it brings to the cake and I wouldn&#8217;t change a thing. I hope you love it &#8211; enjoy! Blueberry Breakfast Cake &#160; Print Prep time 15 mins Cook time 45 mins Total time 1 hour &#160; This blueberry cake is perfect for breakfast or a light dessert. Similar to a shortcake, the crumb is dense and just slightly sweet, and is swimming with fresh, juicy blueberries. Recipe source: Alexandra's Kitchen Serves: 12 servings Ingredients ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature 2 teaspoons lemon zest 1 cup sugar 1 egg at room temperature 1 teaspoon good-quality vanilla extract 1 and &#190; cup plus &#188; cup all-purpose flour, divided 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon. kosher salt 2 cups fresh blueberries ½ cup buttermilk 1 Tablespoon turbinado sugar, for sprinkling on top (or use regular sugar) Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F), and prepare a 9x9 square pan with cooking spray. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar and lemon zest together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until completely combined. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 and &#190; cup flour, baking powder and salt. Toss remaining &#188; cup flour with blueberries, and set aside. Add and a third of the flour to the butter and sugar mixture. Beat until just moistened. Add half the buttermilk, and beat until just combined. Add half of remaining flour, followed by remaining buttermilk, and then the remaining flour, beating until just combined after each addition. Carefully fold in blueberries, taking care not to smash them. Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a cake-tester comes out clean. Allow to cool 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy! 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>A Playroom Makeover:  Part 3 &#8211; The Reveal!</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/playroom-makeover-part-3-reveal/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Mar 2015 02:49:27 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Home]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4669</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I can&#8217;t believe we are FINALLY done with the playroom!   It&#8217;s been months of work &#8211; squeezing in an hour or two here and there after work, a few hours on the weekends.   Yes, we could have paid someone to come in and just do it all for us, but we honestly do enjoy doing it ourselves &#8211; the end result always makes it worth it.  There&#8217;s really nothing better than that sense of accomplishment after finishing a big project. If you want to catch up, go back and read part one and part two of the playroom series. I have to take a second and give my husband JR a HUGE shout-out.  I love that he knows how to do all of this &#8211; and that he can turn my ideas into reality.  I don&#8217;t know how many times I&#8217;ve sent him a picture of something I like, and before I know it he&#8217;s built it!  Having a live-in electrician, plumber, carpenter and a builder has come in pretty handy.  (Notice I didn&#8217;t say painter&#8230;that&#8217;s all me.  He can&#8217;t be trusted with a paint brush. Ha!) Secondly, we are so grateful to have teamed up with Organized Living again.  This company is fabulous, you guys.  Their products, their customer service, their planning and design team &#8211; all top-notch.  I highly, highly recommend them.  We had a custom built, hardwood pantry shelving system installed when we moved into our house, and we ripped it out in favor of the Freedom Rail system &#8211; and I haven&#8217;t regretted the decision once.  Freedom Rail was a complete and total upgrade. The room isn&#8217;t huge &#8211; it&#8217;s only about 220 square feet, but the designed system we used maximizes all of the space in the room.  The open shelves will eventually accommodate baskets and bins for toys, and we&#8217;ve already started slowly moving their toys into the room.  Just organizing all of their toys will take some time, but within a couple of weeks we should have everything sorted &#8211; keep/toss/donate &#8211; and put into its proper home. The Land of Nod was kind enough to provide some of the super-cute storage bins you see here &#8211; and I love that we are able to add a pop of color and style while maintaining function and accessibility for the girls.  I think the dotted floor bins are my favorite.  The Land of Nod has a lot of storage options, but that&#8217;s not all &#8211; the adorable cloud cork board can be found on their site as well. One of my favorite parts of the room is our modular floor rug from FLOR.  Again, working with their design team, we selected the size and color (I went with Modern Mix in Blue) and we&#8217;re incredibly happy with our choice.  The carpet tiles afford tons of design options, and they easy to install.  We pulled ours out of the box and had them assembled in the pattern we wanted in about three minutes.  The girls love their carpet &#8211; and they&#8217;ve already put it to good use. We installed a Smart TV &#8211; we didn&#8217;t want to put a satellite box in the playroom &#8211; but they have access to Pandora, Netflix and Hulu, so I&#8217;d say they are set.  Grandpa bought them some big blue beanbag chairs and leopard-print heated blankets, so they think they are in heaven. And actually, they kind of are &#8211; it&#8217;s a great room for two pretty great little girls.  Mia loves her desk space &#8211; she has plenty of room to color and draw &#8211; and Maddie loves all of the shelves to display her completed Lego sets. Again, a huge THANK YOU to Organized Living, The Land of Nod and FLOR.  Go check them out and don&#8217;t hesitate to use any of these great companies for your next project. Thanks for following along, and stay tuned for our next DIY project. ♥erin &#160;]]></description>
		
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		<title>Strawberries &#038; Cream Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/strawberries-cream-cake/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Mar 2015 01:56:25 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Strawberry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Summer Favorites]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4692</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[This cake makes me think spring thoughts.  Warm, breezy, budding-tree, blooming flower, happy spring thoughts.  And even though we are still a couple of weeks away from St. Patrick&#8217;s Day (and post-season college basketball &#8211; the official start of springtime for me), I&#8217;m ready.  I&#8217;m over winter, I&#8217;m over cold weather, and I&#8217;m over cooped-up kids.  So, Strawberries &#38; Cream Cake?  Do. Your. Thang. I don&#8217;t mean to complain &#8211; I do appreciate the changing seasons &#8211; but dude.  I&#8217;m done with it.  I&#8217;m craving time in my garden, home grown vegetables, farmers marke, longer evenings and warm sunshine.  This cake is a regular for us over the summer months, so I felt like breaking it out and sharing it with you all might just hurry things along.  Plus, it&#8217;s Y-U-M.   The very best thing about this recipe is that it&#8217;s super easy.  The cake even uses a doctored up box mix as the base &#8211; and it&#8217;s just a matter of putting all of the ingredients in a bowl and beating them together.  I&#8217;d almost call it a dump cake (sort of) but my brother-in-law ruined that term for me forever. Don&#8217;t ask. Then, bake the cakes in round cake pans, and level them off with a serrated knife.  This does two things &#8211; it helps keep the cakes level, but it also creates a porous surface to absorb the strawberry syrup. If you&#8217;ve never had macerated strawberries, you&#8217;re in for a treat.  Just chop up the berries and put them in a big bowl, then cover them with sugar and let them sit for an hour or so.  They will naturally juice, which will combine with the sugar and leave you with the sweetest, most delicious strawberry syrup you&#8217;ve ever had.  Then, you pour the syrup over the top of the cake, and it soaks deep into the pores of the cake. You have to use fresh whipped cream.  You have to &#8211; it makes the cake.  The fake stuff that comes in a tub at the grocery store is too sweet, and won&#8217;t work.  You are going for strawberries and CREAM, not strawberries and chemically-oily stuff.  (Can you tell I&#8217;m not a fan?)  Just don&#8217;t do it.  I&#8217;ll know, and I&#8217;ll be disapproving.  😉 This cake is definitely best eaten fresh, but if you have to, you can keep it in the refrigerator for a few hours until it&#8217;s time to serve.  I love it because it&#8217;s delicious (obvs) but also because it&#8217;s rustic and impossible to mess up. And if you&#8217;re sadly allergic to strawberries, try substituting other berries &#8211; or even fresh peaches.  Either way, I hope you love it. Enjoy! Strawberries &#38; Cream Cake &#160; Print Prep time 20 mins Cook time 30 mins Total time 50 mins &#160; Disheveled yet elegant, easy but complex, this three layer cake is sure to impress your guests. The cake absorbs the sugared strawberry juice, and the whipped cream brings it home. Enjoy! Serves: 12-16 servings Ingredients For the cake: 1 box white or vanilla cake mix 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup sugar 1 cup sour cream 1 cup water 4 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 teaspoon almond extract &#189; teaspoon salt Whipped cream 1 pint heavy whipping cream &#8531; cup confectioners (powdered) sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Strawberries: 3 pounds ripe strawberries 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Instructions Strawberries: Wash, hull and quarter 3 pounds of strawberries, and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle cut berries with a 1 cup of sugar. Set aside to macerate. Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F) Prepare three 8-inch round pans with parchment and cooking spray. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine all of the cake ingredients. (Yes, all of them!) Beat ingredients until completely combined and smooth - about 3 minutes. Evenly divide batter among the cake pans. I use a kitchen scale to make it easy. Bake for 25-35 minutes (depends on your oven) or until a cake tester comes out with wet crumbs. Don't overbake. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Once cool, prepare whipped cream. Whipped cream: In a large glass bowl, beat whipping cream until it begins to firm and forms very soft peaks. Add confectioners sugar and vanilla extract, and beat until very stiff - you want it to hold its shape under the weight of the cakes. Assembly: On your serving plate, place one layer of cake upright. If your cake is domed, cut the rounded part off with a serrated knife so it's flat. Spoon about a cup of strawberries and juice over the cake in an even layer. Top with a layer of whipped cream. Repeat with the other two layers. Be generous with the sugared strawberry juice, it helps flavor the cake! Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Enjoy! 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Taking a Moment for Myself</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/taking-moment/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 02 Mar 2015 23:06:55 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personal]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4680</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Today&#8217;s post is a little bit off topic &#8211; I&#8217;m not going to share a recipe but instead am taking an opportunity to slow things down.  You all know by now that I am a bit of a worker-bee&#8230;I am at my best when I&#8217;m busy, when I have a project, when I have a to-do list.  I don&#8217;t like to be idle.  I do my best work under a deadline, and I crave the intensity and activity that a busy, planned-out day brings. &#160; But, even having said that, even I understand the importance of downtime.  I love my busy life &#8211; I love being a mom, a daughter, a sister, a wife &#8211; I love my job and all of my &#8220;extra-curriculars&#8221;&#8230;but when things get really busy I start to notice that I don&#8217;t feel like I&#8217;m doing them all really well.  Sometimes, I just need a moment.  We all do, don&#8217;t we? &#160; Today&#8217;s post is brought to you by Pepperidge Farm® Milano® cookies &#8211;  one of my very favorite ways to relax, take a moment to myself &#8211; to shut down the kitchen, relax with a little treat, and pause from the many roles I play and just focus on myself. Even if it&#8217;s just a moment &#8211; sometimes a moment is all we really need. I often tell people that I have three full-time jobs &#8211; my day job, my blog, and my kids.  But really, it&#8217;s more like 15 jobs.  I&#8217;m also a housekeeper, a chauffeur, a short-order cook, a wife, a landscaper&#8230; you get my drift &#8211; because most of you are living the same busy life that I am.  And, if you&#8217;re like me, you wouldn&#8217;t trade your busy life for anything. Because, it&#8217;s MY busy life. &#160; And these are my Milano Dark Chocolate cookies. &#160; My moment, my reward for rocking my busy life: Milano cookies, a mug of extra-hot coffee and my favorite book?  That&#8217;s a good moment&#8230; it&#8217;s a sweet reminder to slow down and enjoy this journey. When I dip my Milano into my hot coffee, it&#8217;s like hitting the pause button, and it&#8217;s not hard to savor the moment. It&#8217;s not hard to savor the cookie, either. I encourage all of my Lemon Sugar friends out there to find a moment in your day to slow down and focus on yourself.  The intentional &#8220;pause&#8221; is good for the soul.  I&#8217;d love to hear from you &#8211; tell me what you do to slow down and focus on yourself &#8211; what&#8217;s your favorite way to spend your moment? I&#8217;ll be back soon with a new recipe.  But for now, I&#8217;ve got my feet up&#8230; and Milano cookies to enjoy. How do you take time for yourself? Tell me in the comments and you will be entered for a chance to win a $100 VISA Gift Card! &#160; Entry Instructions:  No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post  Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older (or nineteen (19) years of age or older in Alabama and Nebraska). Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 2 business days to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.  The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 3/2/15 – 4/30/15. Be sure to visit the Pepperidge Farm® Milano® Cookie brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!]]></description>
		
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		<title>Cinnamon Swirl Bread</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/cinnamon-swirl-bread-2/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2015 03:36:04 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Bread]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Breakfast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Other Desserts]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4658</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[There are few things more rewarding in the kitchen than a successfully made bread recipe.  Whether it&#8217;s your favorite pizza dough, cinnamon rolls, a buttery dinner roll or just a loaf of sandwich bread, there&#8217;s something about fresh bread that makes you feel like a rock star in the kitchen.  I don&#8217;t know how many times I&#8217;ve made bread (it&#8217;s a lot) but even so, every time the yeast starts to do its thing, I do a little happy dance. The thing about bread, though, is that it&#8217;s a commitment.  The kneading, the rising, the rising AGAIN, the perfect not-too-humid-not-too-dry conditions &#8211; it&#8217;s kind of daunting and sometimes it&#8217;s just not worth it. Except that it&#8217;s always worth it.   When I was a kid, I remember my mom spreading butter, sugar and cinnamon on bread, popping it under the broiler in the oven, and baking it until the sugar and butter sizzled. When it cooled, the sugar would form a bit of a crust, and the butter would soak into the bread a little bit, helping it toast to a golden brown.  The whole house would smell like cinnamon, and that little treat &#8211; the toasted cinnamon-sugar bread &#8211; it was a pretty awesome just-for-no-reason snack.  The snap of the sugar, the warmth of the cinnamon and the memory of the buttered, toasted bread takes me immediately back to my childhood. This is why I made cinnamon swirl bread.  Because I was thinking about the broiled cinnamon sugar toast, and I thought &#8211; you know, that&#8217;d be AMAZING on a good cinnamon bread. So, it happened. Really, if you&#8217;re comfortable making a yeast bread, this recipe will actually be a breeze for you.  The dough is relatively easy &#8211; and once it rises it&#8217;s a cinch to work with.  Once you roll it out into a long rectangle, you sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar, roll it up and put it in a loaf pan.  I think it&#8217;s easier than cinnamon rolls myself &#8211; maybe not quite as quick as my one-hour cinnamon roll recipe, but still worth it. It&#8217;s always worth it, remember? If you aren&#8217;t super comfortable with yeast breads, I have a couple of quick tips for you.  One &#8211; new yeast.  Old yeast doesn&#8217;t work.  Also, drafts and cool temps are the enemy of rising dough.  Try to find a warm place, and let your bread rise there.  (I always heat my oven up to about 170 degrees, then turn it off, and let my dough rise in the warm oven with the door shut.   Works every time.)  Don&#8217;t handle the dough more than you have to, and follow the directions, exactly.   Yeast breads are not the time to improvise and try something new! Hope you love it.  Cut it thick and it makes a YUM french toast. Enjoy! Cinnamon Swirl Bread &#160; Print Prep time 4 hours 30 mins Cook time 40 mins Total time 5 hours 10 mins &#160; Nothing is more delicious than a good homemade bread - but this one is over the top delish. The warm cinnamon swirled into the dough makes it a fabulous candidate for french toast, but it's also great on its own, warmed with a pat of butter. Enjoy! Serves: 10-12 slices Ingredients For dough: 1 cup Milk 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter 2 and &#189; teaspoons active dry yeast 2 eggs &#8531; cup sugar 3 and &#189; cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt &#8531; cup sugar 2 Tablespoons cinnamon For eggwash: 1 egg 2 Tablespoons milk For filling/pan prep: About 1 stick softened, unsalted butter Instructions In a small saucepan, heat together butter and milk, until the butter melts. Don't allow the milk to boil. (This can also be done in the microwave.) Allow mixture to cool until cool to the touch. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and stir together. Allow to sit for 10 minutes; the yeast should bubble and foam. In another bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix sugar and eggs with the paddle attachment until combined. Add milk/butter/yeast mixture and stir to combine. Then, add half the flour and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the other half and beat until combined. Switch to the dough hook attachment and beat/knead dough on medium speed for ten minutes. If dough is overly sticky, add &#188; cup flour and beat again for 5 minutes. Coat a large glass bowl with cooking spray (or canola oil). Place dough into the greased bowl. Cover bowl in plastic wrap and set it in a warm, draft-free place for at least 2 hours. Turn dough out onto the work surface. Roll into a neat rectangle no wider than the loaf pan you're going to use, and about 18 to 24 inches long. Smear with 2 tablespoons room-temperature butter. Mix sugar and cinnamon together, then sprinkle evenly over the butter-smeared dough. Starting at the far end, roll dough toward you, keeping it tight and contained. Pinch seam to seal. Smear loaf pan with softened butter. Place dough, seam down, in the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix a little egg with milk, and smear over the top. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from the pan and allow bread to cool. 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Roasted Smashed Potatoes</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/roasted-smashed-potatoes/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 22 Feb 2015 03:46:47 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Appetizers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gluten-Free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Side Dishes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vegetarian]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4645</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Anyone who knows me well knows how much I love potatoes.  Mashed, scalloped, baked, fried &#8211; I love them all.  My guiltiest pleasure of all is a recipe my husband makes occasionally &#8211; simple, buttered potatoes &#8211; they&#8217;re just boiled potatoes smothered in butter and just barely mashed.  They are SO indulgent and soooo good.  I&#8217;d share that recipe with you, but I have a feeling I&#8217;d be kicked off the internet by the snark police.  (They&#8217;d ♥ them too, if they&#8217;d just try them.  No one can resist buttered potatoes.) But these are right up there too, and they are definitely a little better for you.  My girls love them too, even though they pick off the &#8220;green stuff&#8221; first, which I&#8217;m pretty sure must be a law of childhood, so I don&#8217;t really say anything about it. We like to make these with grilled chicken and corn on the cob &#8211; so it would be nice if spring would just hurry up and get here so we can grill again, thankyouverrymuch. So, these are super easy.  Clean your potatoes and throw them in a big pot of water.  Boil until tender, then smash &#8217;em, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and then bake them.  Then, flip them, sprinkle with parm and parsley, and bake a few minutes more. Then let them cool.  Don&#8217;t be like me and burn your mouth.  Every.  Single.  Time. The olive oil helps crisp up the skin, so when you bite into them, you get a little hit of crispness before you get into the creamy, tender potato.  We like a lot of parmesan on ours, so they all have a little extra bite and saltiness. So yum. I just use a flat plastic spatula to smash mine, but you can use anything that works &#8211; the bottom of a glass, a flat potato masher, a spoon even.  Just smash them until they&#8217;re about a 1/2 inch thick, and try to keep them in one piece. If you like, you can mix up the flavors, too.  Add a bit of minced garlic, or some greek seasoning for a fun twist.  Or mimic the flavors of a loaded baked potatoes by adding some cooked, crisp bacon, green onions, cheddar cheese and a hit of sour cream after they come out of the oven. Ok now, &#8216;scuse me.  I need to go try that. Hope you love these!  Enjoy! Roasted Smashed Potatoes &#160; Print Prep time 5 mins Cook time 60 mins Total time 1 hour 5 mins &#160; Serves: 4-6 servings Ingredients 12 small red potatoes (1-1/2 to 2 inches in diameter; 1-1/2 to 2 pounds total) 1 teaspoon salt &#188; cup olive oil &#190; teaspoon salt &#189; teaspoon ground black pepper &#190; cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley Instructions In a large saucepan, place cleaned potatoes (unpeeled) and cover with at least an inch of water. Add a teaspoon of salt to the water, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 25-30 minutes. Drain potatoes. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Move potatoes to a non stick or foil-lined 15x10x1-inch baking pan, and allow the potatoes to cool for about 10 minutes. Using a potato masher, a large spoon or the palm of your hand, lightly press down on each potato to smash to about &#189;-inch thickness, keeping each potato in one piece. Using half of the olive oil, brush on potatoes. Sprinkle half of the salt and pepper on potatoes. Bake, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned and crisp. Turn potatoes; brush with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining salt and pepper. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes more or until potatoes are lightly browned and crisp. In a bowl combine cheese and parsley. Sprinkle on potatoes. Bake for 2 to 3 minutes more or until cheese is melted. Enjoy! 3.2.2925  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>A Playroom Makeover:  Part 2</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/playroom-makeover-part-2/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 21 Feb 2015 02:33:35 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Home]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4611</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[First things first, if you haven&#8217;t read Part 1, go back and read it now. Good?  Ok. After we got all of the construction, painting and cleaning behind us, it was time to do the fun stuff &#8211; it was time to make the room look like what we&#8217;d been envisioning for almost a year now.  Because we adore everything about our new pantry, we teamed up with Organized Living to give our two little girls a bright, clean &#38; efficient play room.  Their bedrooms have become overwhelmed with &#8220;stuff,&#8221; and I knew that Organized Living would have just what we needed to get those toys under control. There are two overwhelming benefits to the Freedom Rail line of products:  one &#8211; installation is SUPER easy, and two &#8211; it&#8217;s adjustable and flexible and you aren&#8217;t stuck with any particular set up.  In fact, even after we received our plans from the design team, we made a couple of adjustments.  We determined that the girls were too short to reach their storage cabinets, so we lowered them.  Easy, flexible, and full of possibilities. Let me show you how it works. If you look at the pictures above, you can see a horizontal rail that will determine the height of your system.  This piece has to be right &#8211; it needs to be level, properly screwed into the wall (sheet rock anchors are provided) and completely secure. That&#8217;s about it.  That is the most difficult part about the entire installation!    You will be provided with the long, vertical uprights &#8211; those hold the brackets for the shelving in place.  Those can also be secured to the wall so they don&#8217;t move side to side if necessary. The uprights kind of &#8220;hook&#8221; over a lip in the horizontal rail, and just hang in place. So. Stinkin&#8217;. Easy. You&#8217;ll receive a copy of your design plans with your delivery &#8211; and they&#8217;ll tell you exactly where everything goes.  We just taped ours up to the wall with painter&#8217;s tape so we could easily visualize and reference while we were working.  And, there is a very helpful page on the Organized Living website that will help you with a first-time installation.  I have to tell you though, this was the second system we&#8217;ve installed and it only took a little over an hour to install the entire room.  Talk about a rewarding process &#8211; especially after weeks of slow, mundane construction.  (Don&#8217;t tell my husband I said that&#8230;) The next step is my favorite &#8211; it&#8217;s time to count out and hang all of the brackets.  Once the brackets are in place, the shelves can go up.  If you have any additional accessories (like the boxes, drawers and rods shown below) you can assemble those and place them on to the brackets as well. Again, we did all of this in just about an hour, working as a team.  The girls removed the stickers from the brackets and shelves while we counted brackets and hung shelves.  We each put together two &#8220;o-boxes&#8221; (that&#8217;s what the square boxes with drawers/doors are called) and before we knew it, we were done. Once we got everything up, we just stood in the room for a while and admired our work.  The bright white shelves helped the room feel light and airy, and it didn&#8217;t feel closed in or tight at all.  Plus, the storage possibilities were endless.  I was already envisioning where everything was going to go.  The girls picked out their desks (Maddie on the left, Mia on the right) and we did a quick clean up. I cant wait to show you the final result.  We&#8217;ve done some decorating, and the toys are slowly migrating downstairs. Stay tuned for Part 3.  A special thanks to the team over at Organized Living.  We couldn&#8217;t be happier with the design and the functionality.   The girls love it, too!  Check out my Instagram for another quick sneak peek! Be back soon.  What do you think so far?]]></description>
		
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		<title>A Playroom Makeover:  Part 1</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/playroom-makeover-part-1/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Feb 2015 22:38:41 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Home]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personal]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4575</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I am so excited to be back with another Lemon Sugar remodel project, and especially excited to be working with my friends at Organized Living again! If you remember, we teamed up several months ago to tackle my pantry remodel, and it turned out SO good that we&#8217;ve decided to take on a bigger and more challenging space &#8211; a playroom for my girls! This project is a little bit bigger and more involved because we didn&#8217;t have an existing space to work with.  Instead, we converted a storage room in our basement that we weren&#8217;t really using, and turned the 210 square feet of wasted space into a super-adorable space for the girls to call their own. If you follow along here at Lemon Sugar, you know that my girls are nine and five years old.  Over the years, their bedrooms have been steadily filling up with toys, books, dolls, art supplies and games.  We were constantly fighting the messy-room battle, and finally came to the conclusion that their rooms were just not equipped to store toys.  Their &#8220;stuff&#8221; needed a space.  Their bedrooms weren&#8217;t providing a peaceful, distraction-free place to sleep, and it was becoming a real problem. I don&#8217;t have a true before picture, because it was really just an empty basement room, but the next few shots give you and idea of the very beginning of the project.  We started by framing the walls of the space, insulating the floors and the walls, and running wire to the room for the additional lights and outlets we&#8217;d need. I am fortunate to be married to a very handy guy &#8211; he did all of the work himself over a couple of months time.  I have to admit that the beginning of any remodeling project is super-boring to me &#8211; I can&#8217;t get excited until we get drywall up because it&#8217;s not until then that I can truly envision what the space will look like. One of my very favorite things about our new space is the wood floor. We made it.  From plywood. Yup. We bought sheets of plywood (it took seven sheets) and cut them into 7.5&#8243; planks of varying lengths &#8211; we bought (B/C) grade plywood, at a cost of about $24 per sheet.   We lightly sanded the top of each plank, and then used an orbital sander to slightly bevel each edge  so we&#8217;d have a smooth seam between the boards. Because we were going for a casual, rustic appearance, the boards were just nailed in from the top &#8211; using 15-gauge finishing nails (1-3/4) and the pneumatic nailer.   Another quick sanding session ensured that we didn&#8217;t have any tall, sharp or splintered edges, and we were ready to stain. This is where I came in.  We watered down a white, water-based primer at a ratio of one-part water to two-parts primer.  I used a roller to lightly cover the plywood planks with a single coat of the primer mixture.  This gave us a cohesive surface for the stain to adhere to &#8211; plywood grain is very prominent, and we didn&#8217;t want a strong grain pattern to show through, so the primer really helped the stain absorb more evenly. After the primer dried, we did another spot check with sand paper, and quickly sanded down any rough spots. Then, things got messy. I found a lovely gray driftwood stain that I fell in love with &#8211; and it turned out just the way I imagined!  It took about an hour to stain the floors, which I did entirely by hand because I wanted a very light coat of stain.  I brushed on a 1-foot by 2-foot area of stain, and immediately wiped it off with some clean rags, and I repeated it until the entire room was done. I was sore the next morning.  &#60;&#8211; Understatement of the century. When the stain dried, my husband sanded the entire room which allowed some of the white primer to show through, smoothed the floor, and gave it a nice, finished look. We followed the stain with two layers of satin polyurethane, and I have to tell you, I&#8217;m in love.  And even better?  The total cost of the floor, including wood, nails, primer, brushes, stain, poly, sandpaper and rags?  $225.  That&#8217;s $1.07 per square foot.  Finished and installed.  And I would do it again in a heartbeat because it turned out SO good. So, that takes us through the construction and tomorrow we&#8217;ll get to the good part &#8211; I&#8217;ll show you the installation of our awesome Freedom Rail system by Organized Living.  Then, this weekend I&#8217;ll post the final reveal and show you some of the goodies we used to furnish the room and make the girls feel right at home. Stay tuned!]]></description>
		
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		<title>Chocolate Covered Strawberry Ice Cream</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/chocolate-covered-strawberry-ice-cream/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 07 Feb 2015 04:33:27 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ice Cream]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Other Desserts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Valentine's Day]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4555</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[So, relevant but irrelevant:  last week I cleaned out my refrigerator.  Like, REALLY cleaned it out.  I took everything out, scrubbed it, sanitized it, threw away, organized, and made everything pretty and bright.  In my cleaning frenzy, I uncovered four pounds of strawberries that we purchased the weekend before at the Farmer&#8217;s Market.  The strawberries were clinging to life, on the edge of questionable, so I chopped them up and was racking my brain for strawberry recipes. I made a strawberry cake (that recipe is coming soon, too), a strawberry syrup reduction, and my girls ate a good pounds-worth right out of the bowl, but I still had a few left to use. Then it happened.  Chocolate covered strawberry ice cream happened. I don&#8217;t know why. But it&#8217;s good.  It&#8217;s goooooooooooooood. These are the things that happen when you have four pounds of strawberries to use, I guess. My girls are BIG fans of chocolate covered strawberries, so they were terribly excited about this whole endeavor.  I don&#8217;t know how many times I shoo&#8217;d them out of the kitchen, but I&#8217;d guess it was somewhere in the seventy-bazillion range.  :/ My first effort didn&#8217;t really work.  It tasted fine, but my challenge was that if the strawberries were too big, they would freeze and end up like little ice cubes in your ice cream &#8211; they were too cold, and the wrong texture.  I had to make them smaller. Even then, It took a couple of batches to get it just right, but I think you&#8217;ll love the result. And yeah, I had to buy more strawberries.  (My world = trying to use up extra strawberries so you end up needing more strawberries.) ANYWAY , the strawberries need to be small &#8211; no bigger than half-inch pieces.  I accomplished this by dipping bigger pieces to make it easy and then chopping the hardened, dipped berries into the size I needed. Plus, I love the pops of red that appear in the ice cream. So pretty. When you add the strawberries to your ice-cream maker, some of the chocolate will break off, and that&#8217;s ok.  And some of the strawberries will break into smaller pieces.  That&#8217;s ok too. There&#8217;s really nothing about this ice cream that isn&#8217;t ok. Especially when you drizzle hot fudge over the top.  Are you kidding me?  Look at it &#8211; this is homemade ice cream at it&#8217;s very, very best. I used my favorite vanilla ice cream recipe &#8211; it&#8217;s easy, super-duper easy, and the perfect combination of creamy, silky, and vanilla-y.  If you don&#8217;t have an ice cream maker, you have to get one.  I have a 2-quart Cuisinart that does a great job and we use it all of the time, it&#8217;s one of those kitchen gadgets that was worth the investment. This would make a fun Valentine&#8217;s Day dessert, but don&#8217;t save it for that.  This is a year-round, can&#8217;t lose recipe and I hope you give it a try!]]></description>
		
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		<title>Dark Chocolate Shortbread Tart</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/dark-chocolate-shortbread-tart-2/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Feb 2015 16:19:23 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Giveaway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Other Desserts]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4537</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Is it me, or does this just scream Valentine&#8217;s Day?  It&#8217;s decadent and indulgent, a dark chocolate custard atop a buttery, shortbread crust.  Oh, and if that wasn&#8217;t enough &#8211; how about the heaping mound of sweet whipped cream right on top? I&#8217;m pretty sure this is why we have Valentine&#8217;s Day.  So we can eat things like this. Let&#8217;s just have another look, shall we?  I&#8217;m a big fan of a standard graham cracker crust, and even a good chocolate wafer crust &#8211; but this?  Crumbly, buttery shortbread cookies pressed into a tart crust?  Major win. But here&#8217;s the best part:  the amazing shortbread crust is filled to the brim with a dark, slightly-sweet-slightly-bitter chocolate that thickens just the right amount.  And just when you think the chocolate is going to be too dark, (is there such a thing?) the sweetness takes over and is further relaxed by a nice big hit of sweetened cream. You guys.  I can&#8217;t.  I don&#8217;t have the words to express just how luxurious this tart really is. Here&#8217;s the secret: good chocolate. Not just good chocolate, really good chocolate.  REALLY, REALLY good chocolate. When you find a good baking chocolate, you&#8217;ll know it.  The texture is better, the cocoa flavor is more prevalent.  It&#8217;s smoother, and more flavorful &#8211; perhaps not as sweet, but it doesn&#8217;t need to be as sweet because the ingredients are better. Cue my latest and greatest discovery:  Green &#38; Black&#8217;s Organic Chocolate.  I love them for oh-so-many reasons &#8211; and if you&#8217;ll indulge me, I&#8217;d like to tell you about them here because not only am I smitten with the chocolate, I&#8217;m also kind of in love with the company. As you know, I&#8217;m a huge proponent for good quality, organic, local-when-possible ingredients.  I like to feel good about what I eat, what I serve to my family and friends, and who I support with my hard-earned money. Green &#38; Black&#8217;s has a great story.  They were founded in 1991, and have always produced a high-quality, organic chocolate.  They have 11 different varieties; I like to bake with the dark and milk chocolates, and I like to eat the almond bar on days when I just need a little treat. Even better?  Green &#38; Black&#8217;s is Fairtrade certified. What the heck does that mean, anyway? Don&#8217;t feel bad, I didn&#8217;t know until several months ago, either. Essentially, it involves the production of certain foods (like cocoa, coffee, bananas, tea, and sugar) —in that they must be free of forced labor or poor working conditions for laborers. And perhaps most importantly, participating in a Fairtrade production chain can result in huge benefits for farmers. There are set &#8220;floor&#8221; prices, which protects smaller farms from fluctuating prices and from bigger, corporate farms from buying them when they are in a weaker market. Pretty awesome cause to support, right? Plus, you can just tell when good quality ingredients are used &#8211; and Green &#38; Black&#8217;s is committed to creating a great-tasting organic chocolate bar &#8211; and I think the fact that they&#8217;re socially responsible just makes them taste even better.  They&#8217;re a great company, and I invite you to support them next time you see them at your market.  If you want more information about them, check out their website, their Facebook page and find them on Twitter. I hope you give this recipe a try.  It&#8217;s a true treat, and for a chocolate lover, you just can&#8217;t go wrong.  Not a big dark chocolate fan?  Swap it out for some milk chocolate and you won&#8217;t be disappointed. What&#8217;s your favorite kind of chocolate &#8211; are you a white, dark or milk chocolate fan?  Let me know in a comment below, and you&#8217;ll be automatically entered for a chance to win a $100 cash equivalent gift card and a Green &#38; Black&#8217;s Organic Chocolate prize pack of your own! Enjoy!   This sweepstakes is sponsored and fulfilled by BlogHer. Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Green &#38; Black’s Organic Chocolate. All opinions are 100% mine. Dark Chocolate Shortbread Tart &#160; Print Inspired by Matt and Renato of Baked Elements, this Dark Chocolate Tart is decadent, indulgent, and the perfect end to a celebratory feast. Serves: 12-16 servings Ingredients Crust: 8 ounces shortbread cookies 1 tablespoon sugar &#189; teaspoon salt 2 ounces (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted Filling: &#190; cup heavy cream &#8531; cup whole milk 5 ounces good-quality dark chocolate (60 to 72%), coarsely chopped 4 ounces good-quality milk chocolate, coarsely chopped 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons good-quality vanilla extract Whipped Topping: 1 and &#189; cups whipping cream &#188; cup confectioners sugar 2 teaspoons good-quality vanilla extract Instructions Crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Prepare a 9-inch springform pan with a light coating of cooking spray. Set aside In a food processor, pulse the cookies into fine crumbs. Pour the crumbs into a large bowl, and add sugar and salt. Stir to combine. Pour melted butter over the top of the crumbs and combine with a fork until all crumbs are moistened. Pour crumbs into springform pan, and use your hand or a flat-bottomed cup to spread into an even layer, coming up the sides of the pan about an inch and a half. Place crust into the freezer for about 15 minutes. Place the springform pan on a baking sheet, and bake for 10-25 minutes (depends on moisture content of cookies, mostly) or until the crust is just dry. Do not allow the crust to brown, but it must dry before you add the filling or you'll have a soggy crust. You can cover the pan with foil if yours takes a long time to dry. Remove from oven and set aside while you prepare the filling. Filling: In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the milk and the cream until they begin to bubble at the sides of the pan and just start to steam. Remove from heat, and stir chopped chocolate into the cream mixture. Stir with a rubber spatula until chocolate is melted, completely combined, and smooth. Set aside to cool for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together egg, egg yolk, flour and vanilla. Whisk vigorously until flour dissolves. Pour cooled chocolate into egg mixture, and whisk until completely combined. Pour chocolate mixture into the prepared tart crust. Again, place the pan on a baking sheet, and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the edges are slightly wet and the center is slightly jiggly. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, run a thin, offset spatula or a butter knife around the edge of the crust. Carefully release the springform. Whipped cream: In a large bowl, beat cream on medium-high speed until the cream starts to firm up. Add vanilla and confectioners sugar, and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Spoon over top of tart, and enjoy! Keep refrigerated. 3.2.2925 Entry Instructions: No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: 1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post 2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post 3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post 4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. This sweepstakes is open to US Residents age 18 or older (or nineteen (19) years of age or older in Alabama and Nebraska). Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 2 business days to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 2/5/2015 – 3/31/2015. Be sure to visit the Green &#38; Black’s Organic Chocolate brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!]]></description>
		
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		<title>Spiced Cranberry Apple Butter</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/cranberry-apple-butter/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 23 Jan 2015 03:51:17 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Dressings and Sauces]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gluten-Free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ingredients]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pantry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Slow Cooker]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4352</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Who still has cranberries left from the holidays?  Anyone besides me?  I always stock up and freeze what I&#8217;m not going to use, because I firmly believe that cranberries aren&#8217;t just a winter fruit.  It drives me crazy that you can&#8217;t find them year round, so when I see &#8217;em, I buy &#8217;em. Our CSA has been overly generous with our apple deliveries lately too &#8211; so much so that we haven&#8217;t been able to eat them all quickly enough.  We eat them like crazy in my house, so when found myself looking at a fruit bowl with nearly 30 Jonagolds in it, I knew it was time for a good apple recipe. It was a toss up &#8211; I could use one of my favorite apple recipes from the past, or I could go a new direction and try this one.  So, so glad I went with the new recipe. It&#8217;s now one of my favorites, and has a permanent home in my pantry. This stuff is, like, eat-with-a-spoon worthy.  I almost called it applesauce so I had an excuse &#8211; but seriously, I&#8217;m pretty sure our first jar didn&#8217;t even make it to the bread.  Ok, I&#8217;m 100% sure. PS &#8211; a warm English muffin with a pat of melt-y butter and a healthy serving of spiced cranberry apple butter?  There might not be anything better. Not. Even. Kidding. The recipe below will fill up one of the bigger crock pots, so keep that in mind if you have a smaller one &#8211; you might want to halve it.  We filled up nine of the small pint jars, which make a perfect little gift.  It takes about 10-12 hours for the fruit to cook down, and an immersion blender helps at the end to smooth it all out. Now, before anyone goes there, yes, there&#8217;s a lot of sugar in this recipe, but when you break it down, it&#8217;s not all that much by jar, and you really don&#8217;t use that much per serving, so it&#8217;s not quite as obscene as it looks.  Plus, the sugar helps to cut the tartness of the cranberries and enhance the flavor of the apples, so I&#8217;m not complaining. I store the opened jars in the refrigerator, and the unopened jars will seal enough to keep them in your pantry for a few months until you open them.  I haven&#8217;t stored any at this point beyond six weeks, but I would think that if they&#8217;re properly sealed they&#8217;ll keep for quite a while. Last week I stirred a little bit into my oatmeal, and this morning I had a little bit in my greek yogurt. I&#8217;m in love. The spices are warm and pair perfectly with the apple-cranberry combo.  Your house will smell AMAZING.  You will eat it with a spoon.  You will love it.  The end. Enjoy! Cranberry Apple Butter &#160; Print Prep time 20 mins Cook time 10 hours Total time 10 hours 20 mins &#160; The addition of cranberries to this traditional apple butter brings out the flavor of the cinnamon and cloves, and you'll be fighting the urge to eat it straight out of the jar with a spoon. The cute pint jars make a perfect holiday gift, too! Serves: 9 pints Ingredients 16-20 apples (I used Golden Delicious) peeled, cored and sliced Juice of one lemon 12 ounces fresh cranberries 3 and &#190; cup granulated sugar 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons ground cloves 9 pint jars Instructions Peel, core and slice all of the apples. Add to crock pot until crock is mostly full. Sprinkle apples with lemon juice as needed to prevent browning. Add cranberries to crock. Turn crock pot to high, and bake for 8 hours. Add sugar, cinnamon and cloves, and stir to combine. Heat on low for an additional 2 hours, or until both apples and cranberries are very soft. Use immersion blender (or potato masher) until smooth. Immediately pour into pint jars, the heat will seal the jars. Enjoy! 3.2.2807  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Do Nothing Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/nothing-cake/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/nothing-cake/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Jan 2015 03:43:18 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Bars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nuts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quick]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4499</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Sometimes I don&#8217;t know what gets into me.  During my usual Sunday morning, post-waffle and coffee stupor, I typically find myself browsing recipes on my &#8220;to-make&#8221; list.  I flip through cookbooks, peruse Pinterest, and catch up on my favorite food blogs &#8211; all while watching the Food Network, of course.  I have my editorial calendar for the blog planned out for months, but it never fails that I run across something on Sunday morning that I just have to make, right now. For some reason this week, it was this cake.  I don&#8217;t know why.  It&#8217;s kind of a frumpy cake.  Even the name is terrible &#8211; I mean, it&#8217;s not a Do-NOTHING cake&#8230;you have to do SOMETHING.  It&#8217;s not magical&#8230;you still have to measure and stir and bake and boil&#8230;which are all SOMETHINGS.  It should be called &#8220;Do Just a Little Bit Cake.&#8221;  Or, &#8220;Do Less Than a Normal Cake.&#8221;  Whatever. So&#8230;terrible name, but it&#8217;s a pretty yum cake.  There&#8217;s something about boiled icing though that gets me every time &#8211; it reminds me of my Grandma&#8217;s Oatmeal Cake, which I&#8217;m sure is exactly the reason I bumped the Triple Chocolate Buttermilk Poundcake to next week.  (Can&#8217;t wait for that one, by the way!) On a side note, I&#8217;m not really even sure why I keep an editorial calendar.  It never sticks.  But it makes me feel organized and I love my calendar. (The Day Designer &#8211; if you don&#8217;t have one, you need one!  One of my very favorite things ever.) So, like I said &#8211; this isn&#8217;t really a do &#8220;nothing&#8221; cake, but it&#8217;s pretty close.  You start by adding all ingredients to a bowl, stirring and dumping into a baking dish.   While it&#8217;s baking, you make the icing to pour over the warm cake as soon as it comes out of the oven.  So yes, easy. The icing soaks down into the cake and takes on some caramel characteristics &#8211; the nuts and the coconut cut the sweetness a little bit, and the cake was extremely moist thanks to the pineapple.  For as little time and effort that went into the whole thing, I&#8217;d say it was a big success.  And, it&#8217;s one of those cakes that&#8217;s even better on day two. The Do Nothing Cake is apparently an old country/southern/family cake.  I saw it referenced as the Texas Tornado cake too, so I&#8217;m sure it&#8217;s been around for years and I just wasn&#8217;t in the know. So have you had this cake before?  Do you make it the same way? Hope you love it.  Enjoy! Do Nothing Cake &#160; Print Prep time 10 mins Cook time 30 mins Total time 40 mins &#160; While the original source of this cake is unknown, it has stood the test of time and is an old country favorite. The quick prep and no-fail method make it an easy, last-minute dessert! Serves: 12-16 servings Ingredients Cake: 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups granulated sugar 2 eggs, slightly beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 1 16oz can crushed pineapple with juice Icing: &#189; cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 1 cup sugar &#8532; cup evaporated milk 1 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts) 1 cup shredded coconut Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Prepare a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together all of the cake ingredients until completely combined. Pour into pan, and bake for 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Don't overbake. During the last 10 minutes of baking, prepare icing. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add sugar and evaporated milk, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Add nuts and coconut. Pour icing over warm cake. Enjoy! 3.2.2807  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Banana Dream Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/banana-dream-cake/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/banana-dream-cake/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Jan 2015 04:23:37 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Banana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4422</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[When it&#8217;s named the Banana Dream Cake, it better be good.  I&#8217;m just going to cut the suspense here and tell you that it is, in fact, a dream cake.  It&#8217;s dreamy, it&#8217;s banana-y, and it&#8217;s all covered in tangy-sweet-creamy-omgoshsogood cream cheese frosting. Dream Cake, for sure.  The brilliant Jessica over at The Novice Chef has done it again. I made this cake for our normal Sunday dinner a couple of weeks ago, and my brother is already requesting an encore for his birthday dinner next month.  I&#8217;m not gonna argue.  I might even order extra bananas in my CSA &#8211; so maybe I&#8217;ll have to make it a few times. You know, &#8217;cause we can&#8217;t waste perfectly good bananas.  Even if they&#8217;re extra.  Even if they&#8217;re ordered just to let them get old just so I can make this cake. It all makes sense in my head, somehow. The magic behind the dream cake is in the cooking method.  Bake it low and slow, and right when firms up, you take it out of the oven and put it immediately into the freezer.  It stops the baking process and keeps the cake soft, crumbly, and just how you want a banana cake to be. Just plan ahead.  Don&#8217;t be like me and take the cakes out of the oven and realize your freezer is full.  There were frozen peas, tubs of ice cream and bags of pecans everywhere. I&#8217;ll sacrifice the peas for this cake any day, though. Then, the cooled cake is frosted with a basic cream cheese frosting &#8211; tangy and sweet and a perfect offset to the light banana cake. I like to fill and crumb-coat my cake before I finish the final coat of frosting.  I pop the cake back into the freeze for a few minutes after the crumb coat is applied, which makes the final layer easier to apply. There are a few tools that make frosting a layer cake less stressful.  First, a good turntable helps &#8211; I am partial to the Ateco Cast-Iron turntable .  I also use offset spatulas to apply and smooth the frosting.  To get the subtle, horizontal ridges on the sides of the cake, I simply hold the tip of the largest spatula against the frosting and spin the turntable, gradually moving the spatula upwards as I spin.  It&#8217;s cute and easy! Another tip &#8211; when you slice a layer cake &#8211; use a large knife and wipe it clean with a towel after every slice.  If you spend all of that time getting your cake to look just so &#8211; you don&#8217;t want to mess it all up when you cut into it! Hope you guys love this one. Enjoy! Banana Dream Cake]]></description>
		
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		<title>Red Velvet Poke Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/red-velvet-poke-cake/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/red-velvet-poke-cake/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 13 Jan 2015 04:13:26 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Valentine's Day]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4405</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Yep.  Kinda obsessed with the ol&#8217; poke cake. I actually have yet another one coming soon.  But since I&#8217;m 100% convinced that you can&#8217;t have too many poke-cake recipes, I&#8217;m not going to worry about it one little bit.  The world cannot have too many poke cakes. And it&#8217;s possible that I say this about EVERY poke cake I make, but this one is my favorite.  There&#8217;s actually no contest.  This is the best.  Until the next one, I know, but still.  So far &#8211; this is the best. Red velvet cake.  Sweet cream and fudge infusion.  Cream cheese whipped cream frosting.  Did you catch that?  CREAM CHEESE WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING.   It&#8217;s a thing.  It&#8217;s a gooooood thing. I did make a homemade red velvet cake using my old-standby recipe, but you can totally use a box mix.  There are so many other flavors going on that no one will notice, and it will save you some time. Do NOT, though, use store-bought whipped topping.  Make your own.  It takes 5 minutes, and it&#8217;s the best thing you&#8217;ll ever have.  This is a no-Cool-Whip zone here.  Please&#8230;I implore you.  Just try this frosting.  Humor me.  Please.  (Yes, I&#8217;m begging.) The cream cheese helps to thicken and stabilize the whipped cream.  It&#8217;s not too sweet, it&#8217;s just-right-tangy, and it takes this cake to a whole different level.  And then, you drizzle it with chocolate syrup and guys- it&#8217;s fabulous.  The cake is cool and creamy, the frosting cuts the sweetness and adds a silky quality, and the chocolate brings it all together like one big poke-cake-happy-family. And, how perfect would this cake be for Valentine&#8217;s Day?  I garnished with my favorite red heart sprinkles and a few mini chocolate chips, and let me tell you &#8211; it took everything I had not to eat more than my little tasting plate. So good. I hope you try it, and I hope you love it!  Please share it with your friends, too! Enjoy!   Red Velvet Poke Cake &#160; Print Prep time 1 hour 20 mins Cook time 30 mins Total time 1 hour 50 mins &#160; Red velvet cake infused with sweet cream and chocolate syrup is topped with a cream cheese whipped cream frosting. It doesn't get more decadent (or delicious) than this! Perfect for Valentine's Day, too! Serves: 12-16 servings Ingredients Red Velvet Cake: 2 and &#189; cups cake flour, sifted 1 tsp salt 2 Tablespoons dark cocoa powder 2 eggs at room temperature 1 and &#189; cups sugar 1 and &#189; cups vegetable oil 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp red gel food coloring , or to color preference 2 tsp vinegar 1 and &#189; tsp baking soda 1 cup buttermilk at room temperature Cake add-in: &#189; cup mini chocolate chips 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour Cake topping: 1 can sweetened condensed milk &#188; cup chocolate syrup Frosting: 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature &#189; cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups heavy cream, very cold Instructions Cake Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together cake flour, cocoa and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat sugar and oil until well combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating each until just combined. Add vanilla and red food coloring. Alternate flour and buttermilk in three batches – mixing well between each addition, starting and ending with the dry mixture. In a small bowl, stir together the vinegar and baking soda, then add to batter. Mix until just combined. In a small bowl, mix together mini chips and flour. Sift off extra flour, then stir flour-coated chips into the batter. (The flour prevents them from sinking to the bottom.) Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes about &#8532; of the way down into the cake - about an inch apart. Pour sweetened condensed milk over the top of the cake. Use a spatula to spread it over the top and guide it into the holes. Repeat the process with the chocolate syrup. Refrigerate cake for one hour, or until completely cool. Prepare frosting. Frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the sugar and cream cheese together until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and beat to combine. Add half of the whipping cream and beat until just combined. Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the rest of the cream and beat on medium speed until frosting is very thick and creamy. This could take several minutes. Spread frosting over cooled cake, and top with desired garnishes. I used chocolate syrup, heart sprinkles and mini chocolate chips. Enjoy! 3.2.2807  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Maple Pecan Muffins</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/maple-pecan-muffins/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/maple-pecan-muffins/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2015 03:05:25 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Breakfast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Muffins]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quick]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4383</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[In my never-ending quest for simplicity in my weekday mornings, I always turn to easy, make-ahead meals.  Because, really &#8211; who has time to do all of the dressing, teeth-brushing, hair-brushing, backpack-packing and grumpy-kid quelling IN ADDITION TO whipping up a fancy breakfast? Not me.  It doesn&#8217;t even matter if we wake up earlier.  It&#8217;s like my five-year-old knows precisely how long she needs to brush her teeth to make it take up exactly 99% of my morning.  She&#8217;s all, &#8220;Oh, we have 45 minutes before we have to leave?  It&#8217;s going to take me 44 minutes and 30 seconds to brush my teeth.&#8221; She&#8217;s darling. By the time we get to breakfast, we usually have no time.  Cups of milk and whatever portable food I&#8217;ve prepped go with us into the car, and that&#8217;s just how it is.  As long as we have something homemade and relatively healthy, I&#8217;ve made peace with the fact that my backseat will be forever covered in crumbs.  And hey, their teeth are SUPER clean!  :/ As far as quick and easy breakfasts go, this is a winner.  It&#8217;s hearty enough to stay with you for a while thanks to the oats and pecans, but it&#8217;s tasty enough that my kids enjoy eating it.  Personally, I love to heat mine up in the microwave for a few seconds and top it with a little pat of butter.  With my morning coffee, it&#8217;s pretty delish. The maple flavor isn&#8217;t overwhelming, it&#8217;s faint but you can definitely still taste it.  I love a good crumb topping,  so really I&#8217;m not sure how I&#8217;d improve upon this recipe at all.  It&#8217;s pretty fantastic.  We store them in an airtight container and they stay soft and fresh for 3-4 days &#8211; maybe longer but I couldn&#8217;t tell you because ours never last that long! The original recipe included a maple glaze that was to be drizzled over the top, but I think it&#8217;s overkill.  The crumb topping is already sweet, and the glaze just kind of made them sticky and harder to store.  So, no glaze here! Hope you love them.  You could substitute applesauce for vegetable oil to up the health-factor even more.  It&#8217;s a 1:1 ratio, so go for it and let me know if you try it. Here&#8217;s to peaceful mornings and messy backseats.  Enjoy! Maple Pecan Muffins &#160; Print Prep time 10 mins Cook time 18 mins Total time 28 mins &#160; Warm, slightly spicy and hearty, these muffins are a fantastic grab-and-go breakfast that will stay with you all morning. Great with a big mug of hot coffee! Serves: 12 muffins Ingredients Muffins: 1 and &#190; cups all-purpose flour 1 cup rolled oats &#188; teaspoon salt 3 teaspoons baking powder &#189; teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon &#190; cup brown sugar 1 large egg,lightly beaten 1 cup milk &#8531; cup vegetable oil 1 tablespoon maple extract 1 cup chopped pecans Topping: 2 tablespoons cold butter,cut into small pieces &#188; cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons oats Instructions Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F). Line a standard sized muffin pan with muffin papers and set aside. In a large mixing bowl,combine all-purpose flour,salt,oats,cinnamon and baking powder. Whisk together and set aside. In another mixing bowl,combine brown sugar and beaten egg. Whisk egg and sugar together, and while stirring, and milk,vegetable oil and maple extract. Combine egg mixture with cinnamon mixture. Stir well. Fold in the walnuts. To make a crumbling topping:In a mixing bowl,combine all ingredients and cut the butter in using a pastry tool until coarse and crumbly. Fill prepared muffin papers until &#8532; of the way full. Top with spoonful of crumbling topping. Bake for 17-20 minutes,or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the oven, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. 3.2.2807  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Pumpkin Tiramisu</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/pumpkin-tiramisu/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 Nov 2014 05:34:16 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[No Bake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Other Desserts]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4334</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[SO MANY Thanksgiving desserts, so little time.  How can I make all of the desserts?  I&#8217;m having anxiety &#8211; I need to make them ALL!  My Pinterest boards are FULL of pumpkin and there are four days until Thanksgiving.  #igiveup You guys, we are mere days away from putting the pumpkin away for the year!  First, how the heck is that possible, and second &#8211; NOOOOOOO!  I&#8217;m not ready for mint and  white chocolate and toffee and cranberries and santa cookies yet!  I need another week &#8211; or two.  Or forever, please.  Who said pumpkin is a fall dessert, anyway?  Not cool, whoever you are.  #pumpkinforevah I actually have a very full winter Pinterest board, too &#8211; and pages upon pages of recipes flagged in my magazines and cookbooks &#8211; and I&#8217;m sure that a month from now I&#8217;m going to be boo-hooing and lamenting the end of holiday dessert time &#8211; and begging you all not to leave me when you go on your January diets. #iknowhowyouare I think I&#8217;ll just go ahead and end every paragraph with a hashtag today.  #haha #notreally #lovemeahashtag ANYWAY&#8230;pumpkin tiramisu.  Nothing fancy &#8211; it&#8217;s like regular tiramisu, but it has pumpkin in it.  It&#8217;s pumpkin-flavored tiramisu. It&#8217;s simple, and it&#8217;s awesome. But it&#8217;s not quick &#8211; this isn&#8217;t a last minute Thanksgiving dessert, so please go to the store tonight and buy some mascarpone, and then plan to make it on Wednesday night so it will be all ready to go on Thursday.    If you aren&#8217;t familiar with mascarpone cheese, it&#8217;s a lot like cream cheese &#8211; maybe not quite as tangy, but it has the same consistency and texture.  You can usually find it by the cream cheese in your grocery store, or with the specialty cheeses, and it&#8217;s about $5 per 8 ounces (around here anyway).  The filling for a tiramisu is basically mascarpone cheese lightened up with whipped cream, and in this case, pumpkin.  The addition of warm fall spices and hazelnut liqueur instead of coffee liqueur makes this a true Thanksgiving treat. I like to really saturate the ladyfinger cookies with the simple syrup &#8211; it keeps the dessert from being too dry &#8211; and that little kick from the hazelnut liqueur makes you really feel like you&#8217;re enjoying a something special &#8211; which is what all dessert should be &#8211; something special. This is definitely not overly sweet &#8211; it is very rich and decadent, but not super sweet  &#8211; it&#8217;s very much like a cannoli filling might be &#8211; and much like a cannoli,  a drizzle of honey would be fantastic here, too.  Clear out some room in your refrigerator and give it a shot &#8211; and be sure to let me know what you think. Happy Thanksgiving week, friends! erin Pumpkin Tiramisu &#160; Print Prep time 30 mins Cook time 5 mins Total time 35 mins &#160; An autumn take on a classic, this pumpkin tiramisu will be a welcome addition to your holiday feast. Enjoy! Recipe source: Taste of Home Dec 2014 Serves: 12-16 servings Ingredients Syrup: 1 cup water 1 cup brewed coffee (strong is good) &#8532; cup sugar &#8532; cup hazelnut liqueur Pumpkin mixture: 16 ounces mascarpone cheese &#190; cup canned pumpkin 5 Tablespoons sugar, divided 1 and &#189; teaspoon ground cinnamon &#189; teaspoon ground nutmeg &#188; teaspoon ground ginger &#188; teaspoon ground allspice 1 and &#188; cups heavy whipping cream Assembly 54 crisp ladyfinger cookies 1 Tablespoon sugar &#189; teaspoon ground cinnamon Instructions In a small saucepan, combine water, coffee, sugar and hazelnut liqueur; cook and stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves completely. Transfer to a shallow bowl, cool completely. In a large bowl, mix mascarpone cheese, pumpkin, 3 Tablespoons sugar and spices until just blended. In a small bowl, beat whipping cream until it begins to thicken. Add remaining sugar and beat until soft peaks form. Fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture. Do not over mix. Quickly dip 18 lady fingers into coffee mixture, allowing excess to drip off. Arrange in a single layer in and 9x13 dish. Spread with 1 and &#8532; cups of cheese mixture. Repeat layers twice. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over top. Refrigerate, covered, at least 8 hours or overnight. 3.2.2807    ]]></description>
		
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		<item>
		<title>Butternut Squash &#038; Potato Gratin</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/butternut-squash-potato-gratin/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2014 02:11:04 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Side Dishes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thanksiving]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4317</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I am a Thanksgiving traditionalist.  I want the same dishes on my Thanksgiving table, year after year.  And for me, it&#8217;s not even about the turkey &#8211; it&#8217;s about the sides.  Mashed potatoes, gravy, homemade noodles, dressing (not stuffing), homemade rolls, sweet potatoes, real cranberries, my Grandma&#8217;s salad, green bean casserole and, if we have time, scalloped corn. I know there are tons of fabulous recipes out there and amazing Thanksgiving dishes that would make a great addition to my table, but dang it, our meal is a tradition and changes are not allowed.  Ever.  Don&#8217;t you mess with my once-a-year feast.  Just don&#8217;t. So, since I&#8217;m such a stick-in-the-mud about Thanksgiving dinner, I like to spend the weeks ahead of the holiday trying out new recipes.  And while most of them don&#8217;t make the cut into our tradition (&#8217;cause that would be breaking tradition, duh&#8230;) I do like to experiment and try new things.  And because I&#8217;m a HUGE fan of potato gratin and a huge fan of butternut squash, this totally spoke to me and I knew I had to make it. It&#8217;s fab. It&#8217;s rich and creamy and delicate &#8211; the potatoes and squash make a great combo, and seriously, you could put melted Fontina cheese on just about anything and make it taste a bazillion times better.  It&#8217;s a FACT, yo. Every time I cook with leeks I&#8217;m reminded how much I love leeks and always wonder why I don&#8217;t cook with them more.  The flavor is a delicate onion flavor &#8211; it&#8217;s not overpowering or tear-inducing like your typical white or yellow onion, but it has just enough kick to add a little something extra to your recipes.  I don&#8217;t know why I don&#8217;t rely on leeks more &#8211; I should. So yes, leeks are good.  And, they&#8217;re pretty.  Did you see the photo from my Instagram account a while back?  So pretty.  Well, if you&#8217;re the kind of person that thinks thinly sliced onions can be pretty.  Which I am.  (And are you following me on Instagram?  Do it!) Even though this recipe sounds a bit fancy, it&#8217;s really very easy.  The trick is to prep your ingredients first and then it&#8217;s just a matter of a quick assembly job.  I have a great, inexpensive mandolin that I use to slice up veggies &#8211; it&#8217;s light weight and fits in my drawer and does the job, every time. I&#8217;d highly recommend this for a new Thanksgiving side dish &#8211; let me know if you give it a try! Enjoy!   Butternut Squash &#38; Potato Gratin &#160; Print Prep time 25 mins Cook time 1 hour 50 mins Total time 2 hours 15 mins &#160; An autumn take on traditional potato gratin, the flavors are deep and comforting, and are sure to warm you up on a cold fall evening. A perfect Thanksgiving side dish! Serves: 10 servings Ingredients 4 medium Yukon gold potatoes, thinly sliced 1 small butternut squash (about 1.5 pounds), peeled, seeded and thinly sliced &#189; cup thinly sliced leek 1 Tablespoon snipped fresh sage 1 teaspoon salt &#189; teaspoon ground nutmeg &#188; teaspoon ground black pepper 8 ounces Fontina cheese, shredded (about 2 cups) 1 and &#189; cups whipping cream Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F), and grease a 3-quart baking dish with butter or cooking spray, and set aside. Prepare potatoes and squash, and set aside. Slice leeks, snip sage and shred cheese. Set aside. Layer half of the potatoes, squash and leek in baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the salt, nutmeg, sage and pepper. Sprinkle with half of the cheese. Repeat the layers. Pour the cream over the top of the dish, and cover tightly with foil. Bake, covered for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Uncover, and bake for about 30 minutes more or until potatoes and squash are fork-tender. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy! 3.2.2807  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Chocolate Chip Cookie Layer Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/chocolate-chip-cookie-layer-cake/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/chocolate-chip-cookie-layer-cake/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 15 Nov 2014 11:00:36 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cookies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Popular]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4297</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m in that place again.  I&#8217;m in that place where I have a birthday party looming in the not-so-distant future and I&#8217;ve done ZERO to get ready for it.  I haven&#8217;t ordered my decorations, started crafting my banners or even planned the meal.  The party is in eight days.  Oh, and I have that whole job thing, plus kids and dance classes and dinners and bathtimes and storytimes and homework and about eleventy-bazillion deadlines to meet before then. I am fuh-reaaaak-ing out. Why do I do this to myself?  Ok yes, I do work better under pressure, but no one likes stress-ball Erin.  I&#8217;m no fun.  I&#8217;m sweaty and grumpy and tired and mad at myself for procrastinating.  But, I have this nagging little thing in my brain that WON&#8217;T GO AWAY that&#8217;s all like, &#8220;You can do this.  Themed parties for 40 people are fun.  And of course it has to be better than our last party.&#8221;  And then I curse the day that Pinterest was invented and what&#8217;s wrong with birthday cakes made from a box mix and a couple of balloons, anyway? (Not really, Pinterest.  I ♥ you.  Please don&#8217;t go anywhere, ever.) But seriously &#8211; as much as I love to entertain and make everything just so, it is a LOT of work. But I love it.  For reals.  I think I just put a bit too much pressure on myself.  &#60;&#8211; Understatement of the millennium. So, one of the many reasons I&#8217;ve been procrastinating and not working on birthday-party-things in my spare time is that I had to make this cake for you ASAP.  It&#8217;s just what it looks like &#8211; a cookie cake.  But not just any old cookie cake &#8211; a four layer chocolate chip cookie cake with buttercream filling, and it&#8217;s just fabulous. I came across this recipe on Kelsey Nixon&#8217;s website &#8211; I just love her, and I have since she was on The Next Food Network Star.  She&#8217;s so adorable and I love her style in the kitchen.  So when I saw this cake, I think it took me approximately 45 seconds to check my pantry for ingredients and I made it immediately.  The cookies are perfectly soft and just the right thickness, and although I altered the filling (she used cream-cheese frosting), it&#8217;s just the right combination of sweet and sweeter. Ok, it&#8217;s very sweet.  But better than any cookie cake you&#8217;ll ever find at the grocery store.  Promise. Plus, it&#8217;s actually very easy.  I happen to have four round cake pans so I was able to bake them all at once (instead of in a couple of batches) and that made it even quicker. The cookies will get hard on you if you don&#8217;t keep them covered properly, so be sure to keep the cake under wraps until you&#8217;re ready to serve it. Use a long, sharp knife to cut it &#8211; and get your milk ready, you&#8217;ll need it. I used a combination of chocolate chips and chocolate chunks &#8211; and it was perfect.  I even sprinkled some extra chunks across the top layer for aesthetic reasons. I actually considered drizzling the whole thing with chocolate ganache, but figured that would be too much. Ha.  Because a four-layer cookie cake isn&#8217;t too much. This cake is adorably rustic, and would be a fantastic birthday cake for a cookie-lover.  A couple of tall candles or a cute flag bunting would be so fun atop this tower-o-cookie-goodness, and you would totally look like a superstar hostess.  I love this particular cake stand, and it left just enough room to sprinkle a bunch of mini chocolate chips around the edge to hide the cardboard cake round. As far as supplies go, I used 8-inch round cake pans, a cardboard round to put under the bottom layer (for easy transport) and parchment circles to prevent the cakes from sticking.  Everything else should be part of your traditional kitchen supplies.  Oh, and because everyone always asks, here&#8217;s the cake stand, too. Hope you love this one.  It&#8217;s now among my favorite recipes of all time.  Enjoy! ♥erin     Chocolate Chip Cookie Layer Cake &#160; Print Prep time 30 mins Cook time 30 mins Total time 1 hour &#160; A classic, favorite dessert, the chocolate chip cookie makes a perfect layer cake. This rustic dessert is beautiful, impressive and delicious, but also very easy! Enjoy! Recipe source: [Kelsey Nixon&#124;http://www.kelseyskitchen.com/desserts/chocolate-chip-cookie-layer-cake-step-by-step-instructions.html] Serves: 12-16 servings Ingredients Cake 4 cups all purpose flour 1 and &#189; teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 3 sticks unsalted butter (1 and &#189; cups), melted 2 cups light brown sugar, packed 1 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs 2 large egg yolks 4 teaspoons vanilla extract 4 cups TollHouse chocolate chips or chunks Frosting 3 sticks (1 and &#189; cup) unsalted butter, softened but still cool 6 cups powdered sugar &#188; cup heaving whipping cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Instructions Cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Prepare four (8-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray and parchment. Set aside. In a very large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. In another large mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until combined. Add whole eggs and yolks one at a time, whisking after each addition until completely combined. Add vanilla, stir to combine. Using a large rubber spatula, fold the we ingredients into your large bowl of dry ingredients. Continue to fold the mixture until all of the flour is absorbed, but do not over mix. Stir in the chocolate chips. Evenly divide the batter among the four baking pans, and use your fingers to press the batter and spread it to the edges of the pan. Bake for 20-28 minutes or until the tops are just golden brown. Avoid overbaking - you want the middle to be soft. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks until cookies are completely cool. Prepare frosting. Frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat softened butter until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, cream and vanilla, and beat until completely incorporated and smooth. Add more milk if needed. Assemble the cake by placed about a cup of frosting between the bottom three layers. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the frosting sets, then remove from the refrigerator. Enjoy! 3.2.2807  Note:  this post contains affiliate links.]]></description>
		
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		<title>Salted Caramel Apple Slab Pie</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/salted-caramel-apple-slab-pie/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 13 Nov 2014 04:48:20 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Bars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pie]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4280</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[  You guys, I&#8217;m coming up on my four-year blogging anniversary.  It was four years ago that I was planning my daughter&#8217;s fifth birthday party and had only just discovered food blogs myself.  Pinterest wasn&#8217;t really even a thing then.  Neither was Instagram.  In fact, it wasn&#8217;t until I was a year in to this whole blogging thing that I even had a Facebook page for Lemon Sugar, and now we&#8217;re going strong with over 28,000 friends. Love. It. To commemorate the big day, I&#8217;ve spent the past couple of weeks doing a lot of behind-the-scenes work here at Lemon Sugar &#8211; updating, rearranging, and fixing a few of the things that I&#8217;ve been meaning to get around to for years.  You&#8217;ll notice a brand-spanking new recipe index, a new photo index, and a cleaner, faster site.  I should be done with all of the maintenance-y things in the next few days so if you see anything that doesn&#8217;t look right, just give it a couple of days and I should have it cleaned up soon. I really had no idea that Lemon Sugar would ever become what it has.  If you would&#8217;ve asked me then, I never would have believed that I was capable of putting myself out there like this, to committing to something that takes this much time and energy, and that I&#8217;d even have regular readers -and lots of them!  So &#8211; I want to say thank you.  Thanks for reading, for caring about what I post, for sharing my recipes on social media, and for indulging me here in my little space.  I can&#8217;t wait to see what the next four years will bring. Let&#8217;s talk pie, shall we? Have you ever had a slab pie?  Did you even know it was a thing?  I&#8217;ve seen them pop up more and more lately, and after I made this one, I guarantee that they are here to stay.  This was so fantastically easy that I know it will become a regular occurrence around here.  Plus, I amped it up with a healthy dose of salted caramel &#8211; which pretty much automatically makes it a winner. While I am NOT a fan of store-bought pie crust, I am definitely a proponent for store-bought puff pastry.  Homemade puff pastry is extremely difficult and time consuming, so I&#8217;m all about this magical little convenience food.   You can find them in the refrigerated bread/pie section at your grocery store and they are worth EVERY penny. Buy a few and keep them in your freezer, and thank me later. This pie is just screaming for a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, right on top.   Serve it warm and enjoy! erin Salted Caramel Apple Slab Pie &#160; Print Prep time 25 mins Cook time 55 mins Total time 1 hour 20 mins &#160; Quick and easy, this slab apple pie breaks all the rules by using a puff-pastry crust and no pie plate. Drizzled with a sugar and caramel glaze, this is one apple pie recipe you'll want in your repertoire! Recipe source: BH&#38;G Celebrate the Season Serves: 16 servings Ingredients Pie: 2 and &#189; pounds baking apples (I prefer Granny Smith), peeled, cored &#038; thinly sliced - about 7 cups of sliced apples &#8532; cup granulated sugar &#8531; cup all-purpose flour &#189; teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 sheets (17.3 ounce pkg) frozen puff pastry, thawed &#188; cup milk, for glazing &#188; cup coarse sugar 1 cup salted caramel sauce (homemade or store-bought) Glaze 1 cup powdered sugar &#189; teaspoon vanilla extract dash salt 4-5 teaspoons milk &#8539; cup salted caramel sauce Instructions Thaw puff pastry sheets, if frozen. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F) Prepare a large cookie/baking sheet (15x10) with parchment paper or cooking spray. (I prefer parchment for this recipe.) Peel, core and slice apples. In a large bowl, combine apples, sugar, flour and cinnamon. Set aside. Roll each sheet of puff pastry into a 15x10 inch rectangle. Lightly flour your surface to avoid sticking. Place one layer of puff pastry on the parchment-lined pan, and lightly stretch to fill the pan. Carefully spoon the filling over the pastry, leaving a clean, 1-inch border around the apples. Generously coat the apple filling with salted caramel sauce. Brush the clean edge with milk. Place the top pastry over the apples, and fold the bottom layer over the top to seal. Crimp with a fork. Brush the top pastry with a light coating of milk. Sprinkle generously with coarse sugar. Cut a few slits in the top pastry to allow steam to escape. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the pastry is puffed and golden. You may cover with aluminum foil for the last 15 minutes if the crust is getting too dark. Remove from oven and prepare glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, vanilla, salt and milk. Add more milk if necessary to reach desired consistency (thick but runny.) Drizzle glaze over the top of the warm pastry. I put mine in a ziploc baggie and cut a small corner off and drizzled over the top. Follow up with another drizzle of salted caramel sauce. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream for a real treat. Enjoy! 3.2.2807  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/chocolate-pumpkin-cheesecake-cake/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 11 Nov 2014 04:23:38 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cheesecake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Halloween]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pumpkin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thanksiving]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4226</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I totally bought an electric throw blanket last weekend.  I am SO dreading the cold weather that I actually took my 30-something year old tushie to Target and bought an electric blanket. It&#8217;s like I woke up and was like, &#8220;How can I be MORE like my mother today?&#8221; Sorry, Mom. I dread the winter.  I love the holidays, but I dread the cold, the wind, the leaf-less trees and dormant grass.  I hate always being cold.  I don&#8217;t like high heating bills and the forced vacation from my garden and the warm sun. So yes, I bought a heating blanket.  If someone could just go ahead and invent a wireless, heated Snuggie, I&#8217;d be your BFF. Anyway, we should talk about this cake. This sure isn&#8217;t the prettiest thing I&#8217;ve ever made, but it sure was deeelicious.  It actually started out pretty, but my hot fudge was cold (like me) so it wasn&#8217;t cooperating when I was drizzling.  I actually ALMOST didn&#8217;t blog this because of the hot cold fudge mishap, but y&#8217;all don&#8217;t care if my fudge is funky, do you? That&#8217;s why I ♥ you guys. I&#8217;ve said it a million times here though, I&#8217;ve had some beautiful cakes and cupcakes that taste like cardboard &#8211; so I&#8217;d rather my desserts be &#8220;obviously homemade&#8221; and taste that way &#8211; because if I wanted grocery-store cupcakes I&#8217;d just go buy them.  😉 Speaking of grocery-store cupcakes, I actually stepped away from my comfort zone and used shortening in the buttercream for this recipe.  I think ultimately the taste would have been better if I would&#8217;ve stuck with my usual unsalted butter, but it was worth a try and wasn&#8217;t all bad.  The frosting was definitely stiffer and crusted more quickly than a true buttercream, but honestly I&#8217;ll probably avoid shortening going forward. I would definitely recommend breaking this recipe up into steps- perhaps by making the cheesecake the night before to save you lots of time.  The cake is a simple one-bowl recipe and the frosting was quick, too &#8211; but all of the steps together take quite a bit of time.  This is mostly thanks to the cooling and chilling time, but you can eliminate the bulk of that by getting your cheesecake out of the way the day before. Another tip &#8211; when decorating these tall layer cakes, it&#8217;s very helpful to have an adjustable decorating turntable.  It really helps you decorate the tall sides of the cake and will definitely make your life much easier. I used my Easy Hot Fudge Sauce and it was great &#8211; I just didn&#8217;t heat it up enough before trying to drizzle it all over the cake.  You can always use store-bought, but same rule applies &#8211; just make sure it&#8217;s nice and warm and squeezable. So, I wasn&#8217;t entirely sure that I would love the chocolate and pumpkin combo &#8211; it&#8217;s doesn&#8217;t seem all that natural to me, but I have to admit it worked.  The cheesecake is smooth and creamy, and the chocolate is intense and a nice complement to the pumpkin flavor.  I&#8217;m not saying that you won&#8217;t appreciate a big glass of cold milk to wash it all down, but it really wasn&#8217;t as rich as I was expecting. As for slicing and serving the cake, I&#8217;d suggest using a long, non-serrated knife, and wiping it clean with a wet towel between each slice. Since the consistency of the layers is different, slicing can be tricky.  Slice and wipe.  Every time. Actually, that rule applies for every layer cake.  They&#8217;ll always look prettier if you use a clean knife for each new cut. Ok, so we&#8217;ve established that I&#8217;m officially old, pumpkin and chocolate DO make a nice pairing, and SLICE AND WIPE, people!  Slice and wipe. #sliceandwipe Hope you love it as much as we did.  Happy fall, and stay warm, ya&#8217;ll. Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Cake &#160; Print This towering cake of chocolate and pumpkin cheesecake is both delicious and impressive - and perfect for fall entertaining. Recipe source: Life Love and Sugar Serves: 12-16 servings Ingredients Chocolate Cake 2 cups flour 2 cups sugar &#190; cup Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa powder 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 large eggs 1 cup buttermilk 1 cup vegetable oil 1 and &#189; teaspoons vanilla 1 cup boiling water Pumpkin Cheesecake 3 (8-ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened 1 cup sugar 3 Tablespoons flour 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 1 cup canned pumpkin 4 eggs &#189; teaspoon vanilla extract Pumpkin Frosting &#190; cup butter &#190; cup shortening 6 cups powdered sugar &#188; cup plus &#8539; cup pumpkin puree 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice Hot fudge sauce, if desired for garnish Chocolate Ganache 4 ounces chocolate chips &#8531; cup heavy cream Instructions To make the chocolate cakes: Prepare two 9-inch cake pans with parchment and cooking spray. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients. Add eggs, buttermilk and vegetable oil. Whisk until just combined. Add vanilla and boiling water, whisk until combined. Evenly distribute batter between two cake pans, and bake for 35-40 minutes. Allow to cool in pans for 15 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack. To make the pumpkin cheesecake: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Prepare a 9 inch springform pan by greasing the sides and bottom. Place on a large baking sheet and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl), beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour and pumpkin pie spice on low speed until just combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed, but do not over beat. Pour the filling into the pan, and tap on countertop a few times to release air. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn oven off, and leave in oven with door closed for an additional 15 minutes. Crack the door and allow to cool in open oven for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and run a knife around the edge of the pan. Chill in refrigerator until completely cool. To make the pumpkin frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter and shortening until smooth and creamy. Add 4 cups of powdered sugar and beat until moistened. Add pumpkin and pumpkin spice and beat until smooth. Add remaining powdered sugar and beat until light and fluffy. To make chocolate ganache: Warm cream in microwave until steaming hot but not boiling. Add chocolate chips, and allow to sit for 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth. To assemble cake: Place one layer of chocolate cake on to cake stand. Spread chocolate ganache over the top of the cake. Place cheesecake on next. Spread with ganache, and final layer of chocolate cake. Frost with pumpkin frosting, and garnish with chocolate jimmies and hot fudge sauce, if desired. Enjoy! 3.2.2925 Note:  This post contains affiliate links.  ]]></description>
		
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		<title>Out and About:  P. Allen Smith&#8217;s Garden Home</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/p-allen-smiths-garden-home-tour/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/p-allen-smiths-garden-home-tour/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 07 Nov 2014 03:55:18 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Out and About]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4197</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m just going to apologize in advance.  This is going to be one of those picture heavy posts, and it pains me to say that I cut it waaaaayyy down from my original selection of photos.  But there&#8217;s just so dang much to see, so hang in there and trust me on this one! A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about our last-minute anniversary trip to Eureka Springs.  We spent half of a day wandering around and eating our way through the city, then spent the evening at a fabulous cabin in the woods.  The next morning we got up and going really early to make the three-hour drive over to Little Rock. Although we had a nice time in Eureka Springs, visiting P. Allen Smith&#8217;s farm was actually the entire purpose of our trip.  We&#8217;ve been watching his show on public television for years, and have recently become enthralled with pretty much everything about his home and farm.  He&#8217;s a cook, a farm-to-table one at that, practices green and sustainable farming and gardening, he has heritage chickens and bees&#8230;and with the exception of no swimming pool, pretty much leads our dream life right there, perched up on top of Moss Mountain in northern Arkansas. We had some serious jealousy happening, all. day. long. I&#8217;m not going to get into the details about P. Allen Smith, you can read about him here if you like.  There&#8217;s just to much to tell in one blog post.  I will tell you that we enjoyed every second of the tour, and it was worth the price of admission, for sure.  I&#8217;ll stick to the highlights of our day and just encourage you to make the trip yourself! The tour started in his front yard, under a 300-year old oak tree.  The house and the farm were decked out with fall decorations, including these amazing pumpkin houses.  Much to everyone&#8217;s excitement, P. Allen Smith came out of the house to start the tour.  He apparently doesn&#8217;t appear for every scheduled tour, so we were definitely excited to see him! After a quick photo session with P. Allen Smith, he welcomed all of us (about 50 people) into his home.  We stood in his living room, sat on his couches, and listened to him talk about his art, his books, his decor and inspiration for the design in his home.  After speaking for 15 or 20 minutes, he allowed us to wander through the house, asking questions, just looking around. Of course I was most excited to see the kitchen, but my favorite room in the whole house was the sleeping porch.  Overlooking the Arkansas River Valley, the view was spectacular and I can&#8217;t think of anything better than sleeping outdoors on this gorgeous porch on a warm, southern night. The kitchen was lovely, mostly white and decked out with top of the line appliances and fixtures.  The marble countertops were the perfect palate for the ever-changing kitchen seasons, and it was both elegant and kitschy at the same time.  You could tell that it was lived in, used and a real, working kitchen &#8211; but it was GORGEOUS. After about an hour in his house, it was time for a bit of shopping in the gift shop, a book signing and lunch.  He has a fantastic barn-inspired gift shop on the property, and it&#8217;s full of SO, SO much fun stuff.  You can check it all out online, here.   The prices are very reasonable and it&#8217;s almost impossible to walk in and not walk out with an armful. P. Allen Smith signed a couple of cookbooks for us and my husband had to drag me out of there before I spent our entire vacation budget in one place. Moss Mountain Farm hosts plenty of events and weddings at the farm, mostly hosted out of this gorgeous barn right next to the house.  They had a huge white tent set up the day we were there in anticipation of a wedding, and it was absolutely idyllic &#8211; a great place to celebrate. Lunch was served inside the barn &#8211; and this might have been my very favorite part of the day.  The setting was fantastically gorgeous, and the food &#8211; well, it was AH-MAZZZZING. So as you can see, lunch was a delicious fall salad with spinach, roasted sweet potatoes and perfectly grilled chicken  It was, without exaggeration, one of the best salads I&#8217;ve ever had, and I&#8217;ve replicated it already a number of times since we&#8217;ve been home. But folks, lets talk about the pie.  Buttermilk pecan pie.  Again, without exaggeration &#8211; best pie I&#8217;ve ever had.  Hands down.  It will be on the blog soon, so be on the lookout &#8211; your Thanksgiving needs this pie. You need this pie. Actually, I need this pie &#8211; again. So, so good. P. Allen Smith surprised us all again by jumping up after lunch and speaking to all of us again &#8211; telling stories, answering questions &#8211; my husband is so infatuated with him that he actually raised his hand and asked a question, too.  (I was like, &#8220;WHAT?  WHO ARE YOU?&#8221;) I think he asked him how many acres he actually works &#8211; mostly because I think he wants to replicate everything P. Allen Smith does and is wondering just how much land we&#8217;ll need. Ha. After lunch, we took a walk through the farm and the gardens.  The vegetable gardens were not only beautifully planned and executed, but they were all perfectly healthy and of course did exactly what they were supposed to do.  The photo above is of the entrance into his one-acre vegetable garden. Envy.  I had some envy. Beyond the vegetable gardens, the orchard and the perfect rose garden, wandering through was was essentially his backyard continued to be awe-inspiring, breathtaking and I couldn&#8217;t get enough. But &#8211; here&#8217;s where my jealousy-meter went off the charts. He has kitchen-slash-photography studio cottage. It&#8217;s where he films many of his TV segments, and I was practically drooling, folks.  I just sat there and stared at it for a while.  I&#8217;m not going to lie, I had some fantasies of standing next to him on his show, showing him how I make my favorite cinnamon rolls and just being BFF&#8217;s for life. Check out just how perfect, you guys: After the gardens, we hung out with his impressive flock of heritage chickens for a while &#8211; if you&#8217;re a chicken person it&#8217;s really very impressive.  We said hi to his donkey, pet the goats and took a nice slow stroll through the property before it was time to go. We really didn&#8217;t want to leave.  P. Allen Smith is my people.  I encourage all of you visit the farm if you&#8217;re in the area &#8211; and let me know if you go so I can go with you. Thanks for reading, back in a couple days with some new recipes! erin]]></description>
		
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		<title>Cannoli Poke Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/cannoli-poke-cake/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/cannoli-poke-cake/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 01 Nov 2014 03:28:22 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4186</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[There is a darling little restaurant in Kansas City called Cupini&#8217;s that I just adore &#8211; it&#8217;s cute, authentic, family-owned and operated and has some of the best pasta in the city.   The pasta is all homemade and totally delicious, but I think my favorite part of visiting the restaurant is the FABULOUS dessert case.  It&#8217;s full of beautiful pastries, cakes, tiramisu, creme brulee &#8211; you name it. And the cannoli &#8211; oh, the cannoli. The shell is delicate and crispy, and the filling is light and sweet and oh. so. fantastic. So, when I saw this recipe for this cake, it happened, immediately.  I love me a good ol&#8217; poke-cake, so I knew this had to be a winner. I was right. The thing about this cake that really appealed to me was that it&#8217;s not at all a typical cake.  The frosting is sweet, but it&#8217;s not &#8220;buttercream-sweet.&#8221;  It&#8217;s creamy, it&#8217;s rich, and when you get a little burst of chocolate, it&#8217;s like a little bonus &#8211; an extra bit of flavor &#8211; and it&#8217;s ALL good. Plus, it&#8217;s super-easy to make. You all know that I&#8217;m not a huge fan of boxed cake mix, but they definitely have their place &#8211; especially when you&#8217;re doctoring them up and turning them into a poke cake.  Infusing even a boxed cake with sweetened condensed milk masks that artificial flavor and no one will ever know. Unless you have a food blog and tell them all.  😉  No shame here! Be sure to top your cake generously with mini chocolate chips &#8211; the recipe calls for 1/2 cup, but I&#8217;m pretty sure I used more than that.  And give it a good dusting of powdered sugar too &#8211; but do that right before serving.  If you dust with powdered sugar and then put it in the fridge, the sugar will dissolve and you&#8217;ll lose the effect. My kids did not love this cake &#8211; I think the frosting (which is actually the same recipe as cannoli filling) is a little bit sophisticated for them &#8211; especially when they&#8217;re expecting a sugary buttercream. Sorry, kids. More for me. #notsorry I love to make this cake when I&#8217;m serving an Italian dinner &#8211; it goes great with a big lasagna, salad and toasty bread.  I think my friends at Cupini&#8217;s might even approve of the shortcut.  Ok, well &#8211; maybe not.  It&#8217;s hard to compete with the best, but I&#8217;m happy to use this as a shortcut when I can&#8217;t get the real thing! Hope you love it &#8211; enjoy! ♥erin Cannoli Poke Cake Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 1 hour Serves: 16-18 servings A delicious take on a traditional cannoli, this cake is rich, decadent and super easy to make! Recipe source: [url href=&#8221;http://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/2014/05/09/cannoli-poke-cake/&#8221; target=&#8221;_blank&#8221;]Life Love and Sugar[/url]]]></description>
		
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		<title>Super Simple Key Lime Pie</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/super-simple-key-lime-pie/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 28 Oct 2014 05:00:35 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quick]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4162</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[You know when it&#8217;s the end of October and November is just around the corner and you&#8217;re all like, &#8220;I don&#8217;t want winter to be here,&#8221; so you think of the summery-est dessert you can and make it? Yup.  Just happened.  The end of October just screams Key Lime Pie, doesn&#8217;t it?  No? You guys, how in the world is summer overrrrrrrrr?  That had to have been the shortest summer on record.  My summer went like this:  5 year old birthday party, June at the ballfields, vacation at the beach, back to school, boom.  Now the leaves are falling off the trees and there&#8217;s not a darn thing I can do about it. Luckily I received a bag of key limes in my produce delivery.  And luckily I had a full carton of whipping cream in the fridge. Every time I type &#8220;luckily,&#8221; I think of the scene from Legally Blonde with the lucky scrunchie.  Ha. So, yeah, I made Key Lime Pie.  But this isn&#8217;t just any Key Lime Pie, it&#8217;s the easiest recipe ever, and it  has a fantastic flavor and texture.  You can even skip the graham cracker crust recipe and buy a store-bought if you like to save MORE time. The ingredients?  Key lime juice.  Sweetened condensed milk.  Sour cream.  Whipped cream. That&#8217;s IT! So, you make the crust, whisk together the other ingredients, bake for a few minutes, cool in a warm oven, then refrigerate. EASY. There aren&#8217;t a lot of desserts out there that are really just that simple.  This will for SURE become a go-to dessert for me from now on. I&#8217;ve had a number of key lime pies in the past, they&#8217;re really one of my favorite desserts of all time.  I love the pairing of the sweet-tart custard and the salty-sweet, buttery crust.  The whipped topping cuts the citrus flavor just enough to allow a burst of flavor in your mouth before it melts into a creamy, silky, close-your-eyes and sigh kind of experience. One bite of this pie and it&#8217;s summer on the beach again.  Palm trees, seagulls, crashing waves everywhere. Don&#8217;t wake me, please. You can see that it sets up nicely, and it will keep in the refrigerator for quite a few days.  You can go heavy or light with the whipped topping, but of course I always think that more whipped cream is better than less whipped cream.  A little sprinkle of crisp green lime zest makes it awfully easy on the eyes, too. I can&#8217;t say enough about this pie &#8211; if you are a key lime fan you&#8217;ve just got to try it. Hope you enjoy! ♥erin Super Simple Key Lime Pie &#160; Print Prep time 10 mins Cook time 10 mins &#160; This super-simple key lime pie will make it feel like summertime in your kitchen, no matter what time of year it is! Recipe source: Your Home Based Mom Serves: 8-10 servings Ingredients For crust: 1 and &#188; cups graham cracker crumbs &#188; cup granulated sugar 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted For filling: 2 (14 oz) cans sweetened condensed milk &#189; cup sour cream &#190; cup key lime juice, fresh-squeezed if available Grated lime zest for garnish Whipped cream: 1 cup heavy whipping cream &#188; cup powdered (confectioners) sugar Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). In a medium sized bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar. Stir until crumbs are completely moistened. Press into the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate. Set aside. Wipe out the bowl and combine sweetened condensed milk, sour cream and lime juice. Whisk until completely combined and smooth. Pour into prepared pie crust. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn oven off and allow the pie to sit in the oven for 30 minutes. Refrigerate to chill, pie should be cold when serving. Beat whipping cream until peaks form. Add confectioners sugar and beat to combine. Top with fresh whipped cream, and enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>Charleston Cheese Dip</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/charleston-cheese-dip/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 25 Oct 2014 10:00:47 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Appetizers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Party Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quick]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4145</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Yay, dip!  I LOVE me a good dip.  Like the guacamole homer I am, I get WAY excited when I see a good seven-layer dip at a party (my sister-in-law makes a GREAT one, I&#8217;ll have to share it soon) but I&#8217;m all about trying new dip concoctions, too. Except, never put shrimp in my dip.  Just don&#8217;t, k?  I&#8217;m weird about shrimp. And now dip looks and sounds funny, &#8217;cause I&#8217;ve written it way too many times. Dip, dip, dip. This dip, though &#8211; bacon and cheese.  Not one single weird thing about that.  It has texture from buttery cracker crumbs, tons of flavor from the cheese and bacon, and just a hint of freshness from the green onions. LOVE me some dip. You know you have a winning recipe when you can put it together in just a few minutes, too.  When you pull a bubbling, cheesy dish out of the oven when your guests arrive, you&#8217;re going to look like a super hero.  A dip-makin&#8217; super hero. I have a few rules about this.  One &#8211; crispy bacon.  Make it in the oven, and make it crispy.  It just makes a much more pleasant dip experience when you avoid the chewy bacon. Two &#8211; serve it with bagel chips.  Something about the crispy bagel chip with the creamy cheesy goodness &#8211; so good. And three- make sure you have friends around to help you eat this.  Otherwise, you&#8217;ll do some serious dip-damage and eat the whole darn thing. Since we&#8217;re right in the midst of football season, this is a great recipe to have in your repertoire.  Be ready to share the recipe, everyone will be asking for it! Enjoy! Charleston Cheese Dip &#160; Print Prep time 10 mins Cook time 15 mins Total time 25 mins &#160; A super-easy and very tasty dip is full of cheesy, bacon-y flavor. It goes together in just minutes and is sure to please at your next party! Ingredients &#189; cup mayonnaise One 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened 1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese &#189; cup grated Monterey Jack cheese 2 green onions, finely chopped 1 dash cayenne pepper 8 butter crackers, crushed, such as Ritz 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled Corn chips, crackers or bagel chips, for serving Instructions Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F). In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, cream cheese, shredded cheeses, green onions and cayenne pepper. Mix well. Transfer the mixture to a shallow baking dish, I used a 9-inch pie pan. Top the mixture with the crushed cracker crumbs and bake until heated through, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and top with the crumbled bacon. Serve immediately with corn chips, crackers or bagel chips. Enjoy! Nutrition Information Serving size:&#160;8-10 servings, as appetizer 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>Out and About:  Eureka Springs</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/eureka-springs/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 Oct 2014 10:00:20 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Out and About]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4114</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Last weekend, my husband and I made the quick drive down to the Eureka Springs/Little Rock Arkansas area for a long weekend.  We originally had grandiose plans to recreate our honeymoon for our ten year wedding anniversary, but it didn&#8217;t work out with our kids&#8217; schedules and childcare and all of those other grown-up responsibilities that we have these days.  So &#8211; Arkansas it was. I&#8217;m actually kind of glad that things worked out the way they did.  A week on the beach in Mexico would have been FAB-ulous but our quick little getaway took us on a lovely little adventure and we both had a really unexpectedly great time. So, no recipe today, but instead the first of a two-part look into our little road trip. The drive from Kansas City to Eureka springs was just over four hours, but wow &#8211; four hours of peace and quiet in the car with no fighting, no oblivious headphone-singing, no kicking-the-seat and inevitably spilling anything and everything they touch KIDS in the back of the car &#8211; whole different ballgame.  We talked, sipped our Starbucks, sang along to bad songs on the radio and took in the gorgeous scenery of the Ozark mountains.  It&#8217;s the little things. Neither of us had been to Eureka Springs since we were kids, so we weren&#8217;t really sure what to expect.  One minute we were driving through winding hills and the next minute, the town was before us.  And it&#8217;s an ADORABLE, quaint, lovely little town. Since we pulled into town right at lunchtime, our first stop was a little restaurant that got great reviews everywhere I looked, the Local Flavor Cafe.  We snagged a cute little table right by the window, so we enjoyed some people watching while we ate our lunch.  I had goat cheese salad and quiche and my husband had a tilapia sandwich.  Both were delish. After lunch we took to the streets and did some shopping and exploring.  There are SO MANY little shops that it was hard to focus, but we started at one end of the strip and worked our way down to the other &#8211; which really was no small feat, it took nearly three hours to see what we wanted to see.  The shops are about half touristy and half artsy with a few vintage and antique shops scattered in there as well. Of course, my favorites were the candy shops &#8211; complete with huge candy cases and every flavor of fudge you could possibly imagine.  I think we came home with four varieties of fudge &#8211; from salted caramel to pumpkin spice &#8211; and they all made me very happy. We only had an afternoon to explore &#8211; but honestly that was enough for us.  After a while, the stores all started to look the same.  We were hoping there would be a few more vintage shops but overall it was a great afternoon of window shopping and exploring the town. And PS &#8211; the people-watching is INSANE.  I&#8217;m not sure I&#8217;ve ever seen such a melting-pot of people in such a small area.  From bikers to hippies to artists to extremely wealthy, to families, couples, older folks &#8211; seriously an odd combination of people. Since we were wiped out from shopping and wandering around all afternoon, we jumped back in the car and drove around for a while &#8211; we checked out all of the old hotels, the bed-and-breakfasts, and the newer part of town. We had to drive by the famous Crescent Hotel, which is apparently haunted (and precisely the reason I refused to stay there) and it&#8217;s gorgeously big and old.  Lovely.  But scary, so no. I can&#8217;t talk about it, but if you want to read more about it, knock yourself out.  Scary. We actually stayed in a fabulous cabin off the beaten path a bit &#8211; and I can&#8217;t say enough great things about &#8220;The Barn&#8221; at Cinnamon Valley.  The location was perfect &#8211; quiet, peaceful and beautiful.  The cabin was immaculately clean, comfortable and such a relaxing retreat after a long day of shopping.  There are eight other cabins to choose from, so if you are ever in the area, I can&#8217;t recommend it highly enough.  Go there.  Stay there.  (Click on the link for pictures of the inside!) We weren&#8217;t starving at dinnertime so we agreed upon a wine and cheese bar for dinner.  Holy yum, that was a fabulous idea. There is a fabulously gorgeous little restaurant on the strip called The Stonehouse and I have a major crush on them now.  This little gem alone was worth the drive to Eureka Springs.  An amazing selection of wines and cheeses, knowledgeable sommelier, live music and outdoor patio makes this momma waaaay happy. You can choose from several different cheese platters complete with fresh bread, fresh fruits, veggies, dipping sauces &#8211; the works.  We couldn&#8217;t decide so we went big &#8211; we ordered the Cosmopolitan Tray and were perfectly satisfied, and very pleased with our wine pairings. It&#8217;s yum, you guys.  I don&#8217;t even have words for it.  Just &#8211; yum. We had to get up and moving really early the next morning, so it was an early night, but our 12 hours in Eureka Springs was lots of fun.  The drive was beautiful, the people were very friendly, and the foodies in us were totally happy! Stay tuned for part two of our little vacation &#8211; with a fun giveaway included.  Thanks for taking the time to read about our adventures &#8211; until next time, Eureka Springs! &#160;]]></description>
		
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		<title>Maple Bacon Biscuits</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/maple-bacon-biscuits/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 19 Oct 2014 10:00:09 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Bread]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Breakfast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pastry]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4103</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I like to tell people that I don&#8217;t really like bacon. If we&#8217;re being honest thought, that&#8217;s really only half true.  I DO like bacon, but I do NOT like chewy, gummy bacon.  I like it verrrrrrry crispy.  Otherwise, forget it. Know what else I like?  Biscuits.  So, you know -might was well combine them, right?  Because then, you can put a nice fried egg and some cheese in the middle of it, and you&#8217;ll die and go to crispy bacon heaven. Every Sunday, we make a big, family breakfast.  It usually involves waffles at the insistence of my family, but occasionally I put my foot down and make something else &#8211; usually before my family even knows what&#8217;s going on &#8211; otherwise it&#8217;s waffles, every. single. week. They&#8217;re good waffles, though, you should try them. I&#8217;m usually a savory-breakfast kind of girl, so when I found this recipe I had to try it right away.  It&#8217;s a peppery, light, homemade biscuit, and it&#8217;s infused with (crispy) bacon pieces.  Perfect for breakfast sandwiches, and totally delish on their own with just a drizzle of maple syrup. I always find it surprising  how simple homemade biscuits are to make &#8211; they take just a few minutes more than popping open a can, and the payoff is totally worth your effort. However, there are a couple of tips that will take your homemade biscuits from good to great though, so take note: 1) Make sure your baking powder is fresh.  I do a lot of baking, and I replace mine about once every six-eight weeks.  I know they say you can keep it for up to six months, but the older it gets, the less it works.  It&#8217;s an inexpensive ingredient, so replace it often. 2) Make sure your butter is very cold.  If your butter melts, the biscuits won&#8217;t be flaky, they&#8217;ll be flat and greasy.  Use a good pastry cutter and cold butter, and you&#8217;ll be fine. 3) Don&#8217;t over-handle your dough.  The less you touch it, the better your biscuits.  The heat of your hands will melt the butter &#8211; see #2. As far as the bacon goes, I always, always, always cook my bacon in the oven on a cookie sheet.  No mess, it cooks evenly and is always perfectly crispy.  Here&#8217;s a great guide if you&#8217;re interested. I love that there is no mess to clean up &#8211; just throw away the foil and you&#8217;re done.  LOVE. Plus, crispy bacon.   If you aren&#8217;t into peppery biscuits, just reduce the amount of pepper or eliminate it all together.  And if you&#8217;re into maple syrup?  Add more!  My favorite breakfast sandwich on this biscuit was a cheese and scallion scrambled egg topped with a bit of mayo and sliced avocado. So. Good. Hope you love this simple recipe as much as we do. Enjoy! ♥erin Maple Bacon Biscuits &#160; Print Prep time 20 mins Cook time 15 mins Total time 36 mins &#160; Savory bacon biscuits are drizzled with a touch of maple syrup for sweetness. Perfect for breakfast sandwiches or on their own, this biscuit is sure to be a crowd pleaser! Recipe source: Adapted from BH&#38;G Breakfast &#38; Brunch 2014 Serves: 10-12 biscuits Ingredients 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 Tablespoon sugar 1 Tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper &#190; teaspoon cream of tartar &#189; teaspoon salt &#190; cup (12 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into &#189; cubes at last minute 1 and &#188; cup buttermilk 6 slices crumbled bacon, divided &#188; cup maple syrup Instructions Prepare bacon, and crumble it. Set aside. Preheat oven to 450 degrees (F). In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, pepper, cream of tartar and salt. Cube the butter, then add it to the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center of the flour, and add buttermilk and crumbled bacon, reserving 2 slices of bacon for garnish. Use a fork to stir it until just moistened. Turn dough on to a lightly floured surface, and shape into a disc. Roll it with a rolling pin until it's 1 inch thick. Cut with a 3-inch round biscuit cutter, dipping cutter into flour as needed. Reshape, re-roll and re-cut as necessary until all of the dough has been used. Place biscuits 1-inch apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle tops of biscuits with remaining pieces of crumbled bacon. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Drizzle hot biscuits with maple syrup, and enjoy warm. 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>The Ultimate Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/ultimate-peanut-butter-chocolate-cake/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Sep 2014 03:48:21 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Candy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Peanut Butter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Popular]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4078</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[So, yeah.  This might be a bit over the top.  It&#8217;s also messy, frumpy, and haphazard. But really, who cares?  When it comes to chocolate and peanut butter, you just can&#8217;t go wrong.  You just can&#8217;t.  And honestly, I love a cake that looks homemade.  I love soft, fluffy frosting, irregular and imperfect frosting techniques and drizzles, garnishes and sprinkles&#8230; Do NOT offer me a cake covered in fondant and shaped like some cartoon character.  It reminds me of the &#8220;bleedin&#8217; armadillo groom&#8217;s cake&#8221; from Steel Magnolias, and cake should look like cake.  Not a farm animal.  And PS &#8211; have you ever tasted fondant?  Even the &#8220;good&#8221; fondant tastes like, well&#8230;it doesn&#8217;t taste like buttercream.  We&#8217;ll just leave it at that. I&#8217;m kind of snotty about that, but I realize it&#8217;s probably just me, so I digress. This cake though &#8211; THIS CAKE &#8211; it&#8217;s you know, just the best flavor combo in the history of time.  Who (besides my husband) doesn&#8217;t love chocolate and peanut butter? Probably the same people who like fondant. No hate mail, please. Although this cake looks a bit tedious, it&#8217;s actually quite easy.  The cake is my FAV chocolate cake ever, the Hershey&#8217;s Perfectly Chocolate Cake recipe &#8211; because it&#8217;s a one-bowl recipe, it&#8217;s sturdy enough to hold anything you want to pile on top of it, and it&#8217;s SO.  YUM. A stand mixer makes easy work of the frosting, but if you don&#8217;t have one it&#8217;s no biggie &#8211; as long as your butter and cream cheese are softened, you can easily use a hand mixer.  And the chocolate ganache is seriously just butter and chocolate melted together. Easy peasy. This also happens to be my birthday cake.  Another incredible year has come and gone,and while a lot has changed in the last 12 months, and while I haven&#8217;t been able to blog as much as I&#8217;d like, I think things are finally settling down and I&#8217;m going to hopefully be able blog a little more frequently, very soon. It&#8217;s funny when you look back on the last year and realize how quickly it&#8217;s gone, but also just how much STUFF you&#8217;ve done. I&#8217;ve switched jobs.  Raised two little humans to be another year older.  Taken amazing vacations.  Celebrated weddings, babies, life. This is why there&#8217;s peanut butter and chocolate, folks.  To celebrate life. &#8216;Cause what better way? So, a few tips are in order here.  While this is a pretty darn easy cake to put together, there are a few things that will make it go a little more smoothly for you.  First, when you&#8217;re assembling the cake, stack it all up and put it in the fridge for a few minutes to help the frosting stabilize.  It&#8217;s a very creamy frosting, so if you try to frost it without stabilizing the layers, it will move all over the place and fall apart.  No good. Secondly, once you have it all frosted and pretty, AGAIN, put it in the fridge to let the frosting harden a bit before you pour the ganache over the top.  And along those lines, allow the ganache to cool just a bit before pouring it over your cake. Hot ganache + creamy buttercream = big old mess. Finally, before you start chopping your peanut butter cups, stick THEM in the refrigerator for a bit, too.  They get super melty, so your life will be easier and your cake will be prettier if you harden them up for a while. And then also &#8211; good luck cutting and serving this cake.  There&#8217;s no good way.  I&#8217;m not even gonna lie to you.  But it totally doesn&#8217;t matter because who cares when we&#8217;re talking about peanut butter and chocolate?? Oh, and also.  MILK.  Like, a jug of it.  Cold, and in mass quantities. You&#8217;ll need it to get through this guy. Thanks everyone for another great year &#8211; Lemon Sugar is so rewarding and is such a big part of my life these days, and is definitely one of the many reasons I have so much to celebrate this year.  Happy Birthday to me, and thanks, thanks, THANKS for following me here in my little corner of the interwebs. xoxo. Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet, make sure you stop by my Facebook page and follow along – you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!  Leave me a comment below so I know you were here! ♥erin The Ultimate Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake &#160; Print Prep time 45 mins Cook time 30 mins Total time 1 hour 15 mins &#160; If you can't get enough of the chocolate and peanut butter combo, this cake is for you. Chocolate cake is frosted with creamy peanut butter frosting and topped with a silky chocolate ganache and TONS of peanut butter candies. Get your stretchy pants on and grab a big glass of milk - and enjoy! Recipe source: Slightly adapted from Make Bake Celebrate Serves: 12 servings Ingredients Cake Ingredients: 3 cups sugar 2 and &#8532; cups all-purpose flour 1 and &#8531; cups cocoa powder 2 and &#188; teaspoons baking powder 2 and &#188; teaspoons baking soda 1 and &#189; teaspoons salt 3 eggs 1 and &#189; cups milk &#190; cup vegetable oil 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract 1 and &#189; cups boiling water Frosting Ingredients: 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but cool 8 oz (1 box) cream cheese, at room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 and &#188; cup peanut butter 4 cups confectioners' sugar &#188; cup heavy cream Ganache topping: 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate 4 ounces (1/4 cup) unsalted butter Garnish: Chopped Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Candies (I used one bag of bite-size and 8 full-size cups) Instructions Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Prepare three 8-inch round pans with cooking spray and parchment rounds. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine all cake ingredients except boiling water (sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, eggs, milk, oil, vanilla and cocoa powder.) With a hand mixer, beat until just combined. Add boiling water, and carefully beat until just combined again. Use a spatula to clean sides of bowl, and beat one more time. Evenly distribute batter between three cake pans (I use a kitchen scale to help). Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a cake-tester comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then remove cakes from pans and cool completely. Frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add peanut butter and vanilla, and beat until incorporated. Use a spatula to clean the sides of the bowl, and beat again. Add confectioners sugar and heavy cream, and beat until smooth. Ganache In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, slowly melt butter. Remove from heat. Immediately add chocolate, and allow the heat to melt the butter, stirring with a rubber spatula until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly - for about 10 minutes. Assembly: Once cake is cool, place bottom layer on cake plate. Using an offset spatula, smooth about a cup of frosting over the cake. Add second layer, and repeat with another cup of frosting. Add the top layer. Use the spatula to smooth the frosting around the outside of the cake, and refrigerate for 15 minutes to help solidify the cake layers. Remove cake from refrigerator, and spoon a large mound of frosting on the top layer (about 2 cups worth) and smooth the frosting over the top and sides of cake. Add more frosting as needed to completely cover the cake. Smooth frosting into an even layer on the tops and sides. Return cake to refrigerator for another 15-20 minutes to chill the frosting. Prepare the ganache during this time. Once chilled, pour the slightly-cooled ganache over top of the cake, slowly, starting in the middle of the cake. Once the ganache begins to drip over the sides of the cake, stop pouring. Top with chopped peanut butter cup candies, and drizzle with another bit of ganache. Refrigerate again for 10-15 minutes. Cut 8 full-size peanut butter cups in half. Use them to rim the bottom of the cake. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>Hearts of Palm Street Tacos</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/hearts-palm-street-tacos/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Sep 2014 02:48:12 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Appetizers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Main Courses]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Now Trending]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quick]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Summer Favorites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vegetarian]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Weeknight]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[So, guys.  Gals.  Friends.  We need to talk. This taco is LIFE.  CHANGING. I&#8217;m not one to be overly dramatic (haha&#8230;no, seriously) about food, but holy-fried-middle-of-a-palm-tree-leaf, this is a tasty, tasty taco. Uh, yeah.  The guts of this taco are totally fried palm tree leaves.  Wikipedia says so.  Well, if we&#8217;re being technical, they&#8217;re actually the inner core of certain types of palm tree leaves, but either way, I had no idea that they were even a thing.  Especially an edible thing. PS, they&#8217;re also called swamp cabbage, so do with that what you will. I think I&#8217;ll fry &#8217;em up and eat &#8217;em in a corn tor-till-uh. Life changing.  Not. Even. Kidding. So, this taco is a pretty darn close replica of my favorite taco at a local restaurant here in Kansas City called Taco Republic.  I&#8217;ve been there many times before, and in fact they&#8217;re one of my new favorite places to eat.  BUT, the only location is across town and not really conducive to a weekday lunch, so I don&#8217;t get to indulge as often as like. Last time I was there, I realized that there were only about four or five ingredients, and surely I could replicate it at home. So I did.  And it TOTALLY worked. The recipe isn&#8217;t really a recipe, it&#8217;s more of a method.  With the exception of the salsa golf, the rest is just frying and assembling. Ok, so I can&#8217;t just leave that out there.  Yup, the pink creamy sauce is called salsa golf. You&#8217;ll never guess what&#8217;s in it.  Definitely nothing salsa-y. Ketchup and Mayo.  And lemon juice. Brilliantly, wierdly simple.  Still not sure why it&#8217;s called salsa golf, but after the hearts of palm research, I was kind of over it.  Plus, it&#8217;s mysterious.  A delicious, mysterious, life-changing street taco. This is why you read my blog.  😉 So &#8211; tips and tricks?  A few&#8230;first, use fresh corn tortillas if you can find them.  They&#8217;re way better than your grocery-store version. Second, try to fry your hearts of palm in small batches so you keep the oil temperature up around 350-375.  If you put too many in at once, you&#8217;ll cool the oil too much and they&#8217;ll be greasy. Also, when you make the salsa golf, taste as you go.  It shouldn&#8217;t taste like mayo OR ketchup &#8211; but a tangy combo of both.  If you taste one or the other, add the opposite to balance it out.  I put mine in a plastic squeeze bottle and it made it much easier, but you can just as easily drizzle it over the top with a spoon. And finally, if you can find the pre-cut hearts of palm, they&#8217;re much quicker &#8211; you might have to cut a few in half, but they&#8217;re already almost the perfect size. Apparently you can buy hearts of palm fresh, but definitely not in my little Kansas grocery store.  Canned worked just fine, so don&#8217;t hesitate to go that direction. I&#8217;m not exaggerating when I say this is one of my favorite all-time recipes.  My husband agreed that they were delicious, too &#8211; so even the carnivores out there can appreciate this one. Give these a go and let me know what you think.  Hope you love them as much as I did! Enjoy! Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet, make sure you stop by my Facebook page and follow along – you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!  Please leave a comment below to let me know you were here!   ♥erin Hearts of Palm Street Tacos &#160; Print Prep time 20 mins Cook time 10 mins Total time 30 mins &#160; Inspired by the best dang taco I've ever had, this vegetarian street taco is quick and easy to make at home. Recipe source: Inspired by my favorite menu item at Taco Republic and adapted from Saveur Serves: 6-8 six inch tacos Ingredients Canola oil, for frying (enough to fill pan 2 inches deep) 2 cups Panko bread crumbs 1 cup flour 1 cup buttermilk 3 eggs 1 can hearts of palm, small pieces, cubed to &#189; inch pieces 2 medium avocados, cubed 1 handful cilantro, chopped 6-8 - 6-inch round white corn tortillas 1 cup mayonnaise 6 Tablespoons ketchup juice of a small lemon Instructions First, prepare all ingredients. Chop cilantro, set aside. Chop avocado, set aside. (sprinkle with lemon or lime juice to keep from browning, if necessary.) Open and drain hearts of palm. Chop hearts of palm into &#189; inch pieces. Set aside. Set corn tortillas out to bring to room temperature. Prepare salsa golf: In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, ketchup and juice of a small lemon (1-2 Tablespoons of juice) until completely combined. Set aside. Set up a dipping station: Set three large, flat bowls (or pie plates) on your work space. Fill one dish with flour. Fill one dish with Panko bread crumbs. In the third dish, whisk together eggs and buttermilk. In a large dutch oven or cast iron skillet, heat oil to 375 degrees. Use a thermometer (insta-read or candy-type) for best results. Breading process: Several pieces at a time, place hearts of palm into flour. Toss to coat completely. Tap off excess flour, then move coated pieces to the egg wash. Coat completely with egg, then tap off excess egg mixture. Move to bread crumbs, and toss to coat completely. Place breaded pieces aside. Repeat for all hearts of palm pieces. Fry: Once all of the pieces are breaded, and the oil is at 375 degrees, carefully place hearts of palm into the hot oil. I use a spider spoon, which makes it easy and safe. Fry for 2-3 minutes,or until light golden brown. Remove and place on a plate lined with paper towels. Assemble: Heat corn tortillas in microwave until just warm. Lay tortilla flat. Top with a few pieces of hearts of palm (about 6-8 per taco), a few pieces of avocado, a sprinkling of cilantro. Drizzle with about a Tablespoon of the salsa golf. Enjoy immediately. 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/pumpkin-cinnamon-roll-cake/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Sep 2014 02:57:57 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Bars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pumpkin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thanksiving]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4048</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Helloooooo!  Happy fall! Ok, I know it&#8217;s not &#8220;technically&#8221; fall yet, but it was so beautifully autumn-like today that I think it&#8217;s time to take the leap.  It&#8217;s time to close up the pool, plant mums and start buying cans of pumpkin by the case.   I usually try to wait until after my birthday (in mid-September) before I whip out the pumpkin recipes, but the chill in the air this morning just put me in the mood!  This felt like a perfect transition recipe &#8211; quick, easy, and all of the flavors I love about the season in one place. It&#8217;s pretty yum. It&#8217;s also one of those dump-everything-in-a-bowl and mix recipes.  Sometimes, those are the best kinds.  Actually, who am I kidding?  Those are ALWAYS the best kinds. Side note &#8211; I have a lot of questions about these sheet cake pans &#8211; I use them a lot, and I think I have accumulated about 10 of them over the years.  My favorites are the light aluminum ones, because they bake more evenly.  They&#8217;re the best cookie sheets I&#8217;ve ever used, especially topped with a Silpat mat or a sheet of parchment.  Love &#8217;em.  You can usually find them very inexpensively at baking supply stores, but if you don&#8217;t have access to a good one, there&#8217;s always Amazon. So, this cake has a bit of an unexpected texture &#8211; it&#8217;s not terribly &#8220;cakey,&#8221; but almost has a custard-like texture.  It&#8217;s not exactly pumpkin-pie like, but the best way to describe is like a very, very moist cake.  With sugar and cinnamon swirled throughout.  Yes.  Pretty darn yum. Especially warm.  With coffee. I so love fall. So, don&#8217;t tell my husband, but I think this might be breakfast for the girls tomorrow.  They really wanted pumpkin muffins but I just can&#8217;t make myself mess up the kitchen again tonight.  And this is BASICALLY the same thing, right? Basically.  In lazy-momma world, I guess. Whatever.  They&#8217;ll love me forever, cause this is like, what breakfast dreams are made of. Happy fall, ya&#8217;ll. Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet, make sure you stop by my Facebook page and follow along – you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!  Please leave a comment below to let me know you were here!   ♥erin Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cake &#160; Print Prep time 15 mins Cook time 30 mins Total time 45 mins &#160; If fall had a signature sheet cake, this would be it! All of the comforting flavors of fall in one place - this cake is easy and delicious! Recipe courtesy of Picky Palate Serves: Approx 24 servings Ingredients For cake: 1 box yellow cake mix 4 eggs &#189; cup canola oil (vegetable oil is fine) &#189; cup buttermilk (milk is fine) 3.4 ounce box Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix &#189; cup sour cream 15 ounce can pumpkin For cinnamon-swirl: 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter &#190; cup packed brown sugar &#189; teaspoon ground cinnamon For glaze: &#190; cups powdered/confectioners' sugar &#188;-1/2 cup heavy cream (start with &#188; cup and add a little more cream if needed) Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Coat a half-sheet pan (13x18) with cooking spray. Set aside. In a large bowl (or a stand mixer) combine all cake ingredients (cake mix, eggs, oil, buttermilk, pudding, sour cream and pumpkin) and beat until completely combined, about 90 seconds. Pour batter into prepared pan, and spread evenly. Melt butter in a glass measuring cup in the microwave for approximately 30 seconds (don't over-heat, it will pop/explode all over your microwave) Add brown sugar and cinnamon, and stir until completely combined. Drizzle sugar mixture over the top of the cake, and use a butter knife to swirl the sugar mixture into the batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until firm in the middle. While the cake is baking, prepare glaze by combining powdered sugar and cream. Whisk to combine, and add more cream until the glaze is smooth and thick but runny. Drizzle glaze over the top of the warm cake, and serve immediately. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>Three Layer Oreo Bars</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/three-layer-oreo-bars/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Sep 2014 02:22:23 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Bars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brownies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cookies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=4025</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[So my life goes like this:  yesterday my husband was out with his buddies, so I had an evening to myself.  The girls went to bed at 8pm, and I marched right now the stairs, made a big glass of iced tea, bought the girliest-chick-flick ever, and pulled out my big stack of neglected magazines.  It was awesome&#8230;for about three minutes. Precisely three minutes into my chick-flick, my youngest daughter was calling from the top of the stairs.  It was &#8220;fundering&#8221; and she was scared. So, hugs, kisses, reassurance, turned the fan on to drown out the &#8220;funder&#8221; and I was back down on the couch&#8230;and no more than 45 seconds later, my oldest daughter was walking into the living room, saying she was really scared and that she could see lightening. So, we closed the curtains, turned on her fan, did some reassurance radar-looking &#8211; then back down to the couch. Two minutes later, the youngest started again. This went on for 45 minutes, you guys.  45 minutes out of my quiet alone time, my evening by myself.  My chick-flick. Finally, I let them come downstairs and sleep on the couch.  (It was quite a storm, but still&#8230;) I was all proud of myself that I got them calmed down, quiet and got them to buy-into my plan.  I grabbed my blanket, traded my watered-down iced tea in for a big mug of coffee, and hit &#8220;play&#8221; on the remote. Oh yeah, about that.  It was raining so hard that my satellite went out.  No chick flick for me. So today, when I was trying to decide what dessert to make for a family dinner, I picked this one, because I wanted it.  This is my rained-out chick-flick-evening-alone consolation prize. It almost made up for it. A few great things about this recipe &#8211; it&#8217;s easy, pretty quick, and so fabulously cookie-and-creamish.  The topping is like the best cookies and cream ice cream you&#8217;ve ever had, and the bottom is a soft and chewy brownie-cake layer. SO good. Hope you love it, enjoy! Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet, make sure you stop by my Facebook page and follow along – you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!  Please leave a comment below to let me know you were here!   ♥erin Three Layer Oreo Bars &#160; Print Prep time 30 mins Cook time 30 mins Total time 1 hour 30 mins &#160; Easy dessert with a cakey brownie base and an absolutely delicious whipped cream cheese topping. Recipe source: Adapted from Cookies &#38; Cups Serves: Approx 16 Bars Ingredients Layer 1: 1 box chocolate cake mix &#189; cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted 1 egg Layer 2: 8 oz cream cheese, softened 4 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar 1 Tablespoon vanilla Layer 3: 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder &#188; cup melted butter 1 egg 16 Oreo cookies, chopped 1 pint whipping cream 2 Tablespoons confectioners' sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Prepare a 9x13 baking dish by coating with cooking spray. Set aside. To prepare layer 1: In a large bowl, combine cake mix, 1 egg and &#189; cup melted butter until completely combined. Pour into baking dish, and use a spatula to spread evenly over the bottom of the pan. Set aside. To prepare layer 2: Using the same bowl, combine softened cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until the mixture is completely moistened and creamy. Remove half of the mixture and place it in another medium bowl. Set it aside for layer 3. Add cocoa powder, &#188; cup melted butter and egg to the remaining mixuture. Beat until smooth, using a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl. Pour mixture over the top of layer 1. Bake for 30 minutes, or until completely set. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. To prepare layer 3: Pour whipping cream into a large, clean bowl. Beat on medium-high speed until thickened. Add vanilla and confectioners sugar, and beat until just combined and cream is thick. Chop the Oreo cookies, and stir about &#190; of them into the reserved cream cheese mixture from earlier. Save remaining Oreos for topping. Stir &#8531; of the whipped cream into the Oreo/cream cheese mixture, using a folding motion. Add another &#8531; of the whipped cream into the mixture, continuing the folding motion, taking care not to stir too vigorously. Add remaining whipped cream, and fold until completely combined. Spoon mixture over the top of the cooled bars, and spread evenly. Sprinkle with remaining chopped Oreo cookies. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until ready to serve. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>Cookie Dough Brownie Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/cookie-dough-brownie-cake/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Jun 2014 02:47:38 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Brownies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=3972</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[You know when you make an awesome dessert, take it to your Mom&#8217;s house for Sunday dinner, and only eat a tiny piece because you&#8217;re too full from dinner to eat more?   And then you find yourself sitting on the couch at 9pm wishing you brought a piece home with you? I&#8217;m there. I ALWAYS do that.  I&#8217;m all like, &#8220;Nah, I don&#8217;t need a big piece of cake, I&#8217;m good with one little bite.&#8221;  And then at 9pm I&#8217;m trying to figure out what my parents would do if I barged into their kitchen like it was 1989 again.  Especially since I&#8217;d have to wake my kids up to make the trip.  I think the biggest problem is that this doesn&#8217;t sound terribly irrational to me&#8230; Speaking of which, can you believe that 1989 was 25 years ago?  Because I was curious, I looked up the top 100 Billboard songs of 1989.  It included &#8220;My Prerogative,&#8221; &#8220;Wind Beneath my Wings,&#8221; &#8220;Every Rose Has It&#8217;s Thorn,&#8221; and &#8220;Straight Up.&#8221; I now feel old. So, now I feel old and I wish I had cake.  Cookie Dough Brownie Cake, to be precise. As far as layer cakes go, this one is pretty easy.  A simple brownie recipe is baked into three 8-inch layers, and it&#8217;s filled with my favorite cookie dough frosting then doused in a layer of chocolate ganache.  It&#8217;s messy, rich, dense and hits the spot with a big dollop of whipped cream on top. If you want to be extra fancy, double your ganache recipe and drizzle it over the slices after you serve it.  Or, serve this with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, it it will taste exactly like a brownie sundae made with cookie dough frosting. If that&#8217;s your thing, that is. Which is should be.  Your thing.  This cake should be your thing, &#8217;cause it&#8217;s just darn good. Oh &#8211; and one more thing.  You may have notice a bit of a new look around here.  I&#8217;m doing a bit of updating, so I hope you like the changes so far!  I have plenty more to do, but should have everything completed in the next few weeks. Hope you love this recipe.  Enjoy! Cookie Dough Brownie Cake &#160; Print Prep time 45 mins &#160; Rich and decadent, this three-layer brownie cake is filled with cookie dough frosting and topped with a silky chocolate ganache. Recipe source: Adapted from Life Love and Sugar Serves: 12-16 servings Ingredients Brownie Cake: 1 and &#189; cups vegetable oil 3 cups sugar 3 teaspoons vanilla extract 6 eggs 1 and &#189; cups flour 1 cup cocoa powder &#190; teaspoon baking powder &#188; teaspoon salt Cookie Dough Filling: 3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature &#190; cup light brown sugar, packed 3 and &#189; cups confectioners’ sugar 1 cup all-purpose flour &#190; teaspoon salt 3 Tablespoons milk 2 and &#189; teaspoons vanilla extract Ganache Frosting: 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped (or use chocolate chips) &#189; cup heavy whipping cream &#188; cup light corn syrup 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Extra chocolate chips, for garnish Instructions Brownies: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees (F). Prepare three 8-inch round baking pans with cooking spray and parchment. In a large bowl, combine sugar and oil. Stir with a large wooden spoon until completely combined. Add eggs one at a time, stirring and incorporating each completely before adding another. Add vanilla, stir to combine. In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder.) Whisk to combine. Add dry ingredients a little bit at a time, stirring until just absorbed each time. I added mine in 3 batches. Do not over-mix, just stir until dry ingredients are fully incorporated. Pour batter evenly into three prepared pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with wet crumbs. Cool completely, then remove from pans and set aside. Prepare filling. Cookie Dough Filling: In a large bowl (I used my stand mixer) beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar, and beat to combine. Add flour and sugar, beat until combined. Add milk and vanilla, beat until light and fully. Ganache Frosting: In a medium glass bowl, heat heavy cream in the microwave until steaming hot but not boiling, about 45 seconds. (Microwaves vary, so just watch yours carefully.) Remove hot cream from microwave, and pour chocolate chips into the cream. Allow to sit for 30 seconds, then slowly stir with a rubber spatula until cream and chocolate fully combine, and chocolate melts completely. Stir in corn syrup and vanilla, and again stir until completely combined. Set aside while you assemble the cake. Assembly: Place one layer of brownie cake on your serving platter. Spoon about 1 cup of frosting over the top of the cooled cake, and spread just to the edge of the cake. Place another layer on top of the first. Press down slightly to secure. Spoon another 1 cup of frosting over the top of the layer, and spread just to the edges of the cake. Spoon remaining frosting into a piping bag with a star tip for decorating. Place top layer of cake over the frosting. Press down slightly to secure. Place cake in refrigerator for 10 minutes. Remove chilled cake from refrigerator. Slowly pour about &#189; cup of ganache over the top of the cake, and using an offset spatula, slowly spread it to the sides of the cake, just barely pushing it over the edge. Add more ganache until you reach your desired coverage. Place cake back in refrigerator for 20 minutes to allow ganache to firm up. Pipe decorations around cake, sprinkle with chocolate chips and drizzle with leftover ganache. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>Spiced White Wine Bundt Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/spiced-white-wine-bundt-cake/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Apr 2014 02:42:25 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=3905</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Yup.  Another bundt cake. I have to confess, I&#8217;m a little bit obsessed with the bundt cake lately.  I think it&#8217;s because they&#8217;re way easy.  There are no layers, no lug-out-the-KitchenAid frostings, no fuss. And right now, I&#8217;m all about no-fuss. What is it about this time of year?  It&#8217;s SOOOOO busy.  The end of the school year, dance recitals, Easter, birthdays, graduations, weddings, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. ETC. SO busy. And truth be told, all I want to do right now is be outside in the beautiful weather, working on my yard and soaking it all in.  That, combined with the fact that I haven&#8217;t had a day off work in six months (!!) is enough to have me looking for and totally embracing the simple things in life. Oh, and wine too. Ahem. So, this cake &#8211; it&#8217;s easy, it&#8217;s SO DEEElish, and yeah, it has some wine in it.  Wine and cinnamon, actually.  Weird, eh? It&#8217;s weird in a good way, though.  I have never had another cake like it.  It&#8217;s light, super moist and very, very flavorful.  It&#8217;s a bit spicy thanks to the cinnamon and brown sugar, and the crispy sugar-glaze coating is extra fabulous. Thanks to the sugary glaze, it can be a little tricky to get out of the pan (mine stuck just a little, as you can see in the picture) but you won&#8217;t care one little bit. I hope you love it.  Enjoy! Spiced White Wine Bundt Cake &#160; Print Prep time 20 mins Cook time 55 mins &#160; This deliciously unusual cake has slight spice undertones, and is extremely tender and moist. The wine and sugar glaze is the perfect topping! Serves: 12-16 servings Ingredients Cake ingredients: 1 box french vanilla cake mix &#188; cup brown sugar &#188; cup white sugar 1 box (3.4oz) instant vanilla pudding mix 2 teaspoons cinnamon 4 eggs &#190; cup water &#190; cup vegetable oil &#189; cup sweet white wine Pan prep ingredients: 2 Tablespoons flour 2 Tablespoons melted butter Glaze ingredients: &#189; cup unsalted butter 1 cup sugar &#188; cup white wine Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). In a small measuring cup, melt 2 Tablespoons of butter in the microwave. Add the flour to the melted butter, and whisk together until smooth. Using a pastry brush, generously coat the inside of a bundt pan with the butter/flour mixture. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine all cake ingredients (cake mix, sugars, water, oil, cinnamon, wine, eggs and pudding mix.) Beat with an electric mixer until fully incorporated, about 2 minutes. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan. Bake for 55 minutes, or until a cake-tester comes out clean. While the cake is baking, prepare the glaze. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the sugar and wine to melted butter, and stir continuously until sugar has dissolved. Set aside. Take cake out of oven and place on a wire rack. Immediately pour all of the glaze over the hot cake. Allow to cool, then invert cake onto a serving plate, and enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>Butterfinger Poke Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/butterfinger-poke-cake/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/butterfinger-poke-cake/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 31 Mar 2014 02:35:25 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Summer Favorites]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=3892</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[So, I have a small confession to make.  I&#8217;ve spent the last couple of weeks catching up on Pretty Little Liars. &#8220;Catching Up&#8221; = watching it from the beginning because I can&#8217;t remember where I left off. I&#8217;ve watched 32 episodes of PLL in 13 days. This does not make me proud. I&#8217;m kind of obsessed, though.  It started when I was traveling on business, continued while I was recovering from an awful cold, and well, now I have no excuse.   Today though, I had a bit of a breakthrough.  Instead of plopping down on the couch for little marathon session, I actually did a little bit of baking. It&#8217;s nice, to be baking again, after quite a long hiatus.  I think my cold/flu/bronchitis/probablypneumonia is finally gone, my laundry is caught up, and I feel like a real-live human being again. Perhaps a 14-year old human being, but once I&#8217;m caught up I&#8217;ll start acting my age again, promise.  (PS &#8211; who is your favorite PLL?  I think I like Aria the best&#8230;) Okay, anyway.  Cake. This cake is kind of amazing.  I&#8217;m a big fan of the poke-cake anyway, but this one just really hit the spot today.  The cake is infused with caramel sauce and topped with homemade whipped cream, so really I don&#8217;t see how you could possibly improve upon it.   Although I made my own yellow cake, you can certainly use a boxed cake mix.  And homemade caramel sauce actually doesn&#8217;t work very well in this recipe, so stick with store-bought and you&#8217;ll be fine. But please, PLEASE, do not use Cool Whip.  Take the extra five minutes and make your own whipped cream.  It will take your cake from good to AWESOME. Hope you love it!  Enjoy! Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet, make sure you stop by my Facebook page and follow along – you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!  Please leave a comment below to let me know you were here!   ♥erin Butterfinger Poke Cake &#160; Print Prep time 10 mins Cook time 30 mins &#160; If you're a fan of a good poke cake, this recipe is for you. Fluffy yellow cake is infused with sweet caramel sauce and topped with perfect whipped cream. Recipe source: Adapted from Chef-In-Training Serves: 12 servings Ingredients 1 recipe yellow cake, or your favorite box cake mix, and ingredients to prepare it. 1 can sweetened condensed milk 1 (16oz) jar caramel sauce 1 pint heavy whipping cream &#8531; cup confectioners sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 Butterfinger candy bars, crushed into large crumbs Instructions Prepare cake, according to directions, in a 9x13 pan. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then poke holes in the top of the cake with the end of a wooden spoon. Holes should be approximately &#190; inch apart, and cover the whole cake. Pour the can of condensed milk over the top of the cake, and spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Then, pour the jar of caramel sauce over the top of the cake, and again spread evenly over cake. Place cake in the refrigerator for 1 hour or until cool. Once cool, prepare whipped cream. Pour cold whipping cream into a deep, clean bowl. Beat on high speed until cream begins to thicken, about 4 minutes. Add sugar and vanilla, and continue to beat cream until completely thickened. Spread whipped cream over the top of the cooled cake, and sprinkle. with crushed Butterfinger crumbs. Return to refrigerator until time to serve, and store covered in refrigerator after serving. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>#MyHomeTownGuide &#8211; Five of My Favorite Eats in Kansas City</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/myhometownguide-five-favorite-eats-kansas-city/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/myhometownguide-five-favorite-eats-kansas-city/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 25 Mar 2014 02:09:31 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Out and About]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=3872</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s that time of year in Kansas City.  Winter is slipping away, and spring is just.  about.  here.  Suddenly 45 degrees feels balmy, and we are looking for any reason we can think of to get out of the house.  Fortunately for us, KC is full, and I mean full, of fantastic restaurants and foodie hot-spots to keep our mind off of Mother Nature&#8217;s indecisiveness. Kansas City is primarily known as a barbecue town, and there&#8217;s good reason for that.  In fact, two of my must-visit KC restaurants fall under the BBQ category.  But beyond the ribs and burnt-ends is a happening culinary scene on the rise.  Choosing just five of my favorites to share with you today was nearly impossible, and if you ask me next week I&#8217;d likely have five different spots for you. But today, I present you with five restaurants you need to visit if you&#8217;re ever in KC: 1) The Westside Local • 1663 Summit Street, Kansas City, MO 64108 &#124; http://thewestsidelocal.com/ There are so many wonderful things about The Westside Local.  One, it&#8217;s adorable.  The neighborhood is perfectly quaint, the servers are real and friendly, and the food is fantastic.  Above all though, I feel good about eating at this establishment because they support local farmers, local businesses and you will experience a true farm-to-table meal with every visit.  Menu offerings include &#8220;blunch&#8221; and dinner, and if you can, eat outside on the cutest little patio-garden, ever. What I order:  Sweet Potato Quinoa Burger with a Pint of Fries.  $17 2) Taco Republic •500 County Line Road, Kansas City, KS 66103 &#124; http://eattacorepublic.com/ Ah, Taco Republic.  This is a relatively new restaurant in KC, but the concept is not.  Taco Republic was born as a food truck, and was so popular and in demand that a freestanding location followed soon after.  The &#8220;street-style&#8221; tacos can be ordered sitting at a table or via a walk-up window.   Their specialty is their wood-fired chicken, but even more appealing to me is the carefree, open-air atmosphere.  The food is cheap, delicious and always hits the spot. What I order:  1 Old School, 1 Ortiz, and 1 Buena Terra.  Oh, and always a Margarita.  $9.15 3) Kansas City River Market • Kansas City, MO &#124; http://www.kcrivermarket.com/home.html My first memories of the KC River Market were as a child, walking through the tables and tables of vendors with my Mom and Grandma, buying honey, banana bread and a fake Gucci sweatshirt.  It would be an understatement to say that things have changed slightly over the years.  The year-round, temperature controlled market is always busy and in the summer months, there is no better place to be.  Fresh fruits, veggies, bakeries, spices, coffee, BBQ, you name it.  Booth after booth of local offerings, right under the Kansas City skyline &#8211; it&#8217;s one of my favorite places in the city. What I order:  Large, non-fat vanilla latte from the Coffeehouse, and an Almond Croissant from Bloom Bakery.  $7 4) Oklahoma Joe&#8217;s • 3002 W 47th Ave, Kansas City, KS &#124; http://oklahomajoesbbq.com/ Best barbecue in Kansas City?  Everyone has a different opinion.  But, I guarantee you that if, as a tourist, you ask any Kansas Citian where to eat while in town?  Oklahoma Joe&#8217;s will almost certainly be the answer.  So, we should just get it out of the way &#8211; it&#8217;s in a gas station.   And we&#8217;re okay with that.  (Yes, there are other locations, but you GOTTA eat at the gas station to get the full experience.)  Anthony Bourdain even named Oklahoma Joe&#8217;s as one of &#8220;Thirteen Places to Eat Before You Die.&#8221;  Who am I to argue with Mr. Bourdain? What I order:  The Z-Man.  Onion Rings.  A coke.  $13.98   5) Arthur Bryant&#8217;s  • 1727 Brooklyn Ave, Kansas City, MO &#124; http://www.arthurbryantsbbq.com As a true Kansas Citian, I can name my favorite dish at every barbecue establishment in town.  They are all known for something different, and I order the same thing, every time I visit.  Arthur Bryant&#8217;s has two locations.  One of them, I won&#8217;t visit without my husband.  The other is in suburbia, just minutes from my house.  AB&#8217;s has the BEST smoked turkey in town.  Hands.  Down. What I order:  Turkey Sandwich with Fries $11.95   Like I said, these are just five of my lengthy list of restaurants that you GOTTA try in Kansas City.  I&#8217;d love to see your favorites from your hometown!  Show us your favorite spots to eat, stay and play in your hometown and win a getaway to any of the US cities featured in Earth’s Finest City Guide! To participate, just upload an image of your favorite spot in your hometown to Twitter or Instagram with hashtag #myhometownguide and tell us where you live and what makes the image special and you will be entered to win automatically.]]></description>
		
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		<title>Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/oreo-stuffed-chocolate-chip-cookies/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 10 Feb 2014 04:43:54 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cookies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=3841</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I have to say that I had very low expectations for this recipe.  It just didn&#8217;t really appeal to me at all for some reason.  It wasn&#8217;t until my brother requested these for this birthday dessert that I finally broke down and made them. They are actually quite delicious.  The chocolate chip cookie is firm but soft, and even the Oreo cookie softens up a little bit in the middle of the cookie.  I will now humbly admit that I should&#8217;ve tried these years ago. My girls got in on the fun, too.  Their little hands were perfect for molding the dough around the Oreo cookie, and anytime they get to help me in the kitchen they love it.  So if you have little ones, it&#8217;s a great recipe to get them involved. After you prepare the dough, take two small scoops of dough (about a Tablespoon each, or a small cookie-scoop worth) and place one on top of the Oreo, and one on the bottom of the Oreo.  Use your hands to mold the dough around the cookie and seal the edges.  Smooth the dough into a slightly flattened disc, and let them bake until they&#8217;re just slightly golden brown. These are ENORMOUS, so one cookie will be quite a commitment, but if you store them in an airtight container, they&#8217;ll stay perfectly soft and ready to enjoy for a couple of days. Be sure to line your baking sheet with parchment paper, and keep an eye on them while they&#8217;re baking.  You don&#8217;t want to overbake these, a crispy, dry cookie wouldn&#8217;t not be good in this case. Get the cold milk ready, and enjoy! Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet, make sure you stop by my Facebook page and follow along – you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!  Please leave a comment below to let me know you were here!   ♥erin Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies &#160; Print Prep time 15 mins Cook time 15 mins Total time 60 mins &#160; A tasty combo, this stuffed chocolate chip cookie is a fun snack for kids and perfect with a huge glass of cold milk. Enjoy! Recipe courtesy of Amandeleine Serves: 20-24 cookies Ingredients 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened &#190; cup packed light brown sugar 1 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 3 and &#189; cups flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 cups mini chocolate chips 20-24 Oreo cookies Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Cream butter and both sugars together with an electric mixer until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla, beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and baking soda. Slowly add to wet ingredients, about &#189; cup at a time until just combined. Do not over beat. Stir in chocolate chips. Using a small cookie scoop take one scoop of cookie dough and place on top of an Oreo Cookie. (Or about 1 Tablespoon of dough) Take another scoop of dough and place on bottom of Oreo cookie. Seal edges together by pressing and cupping in hand until Oreo cookie is enclosed with dough. Place onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake cookies 10-14 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>Sausage &#038; Egg Breakfast Casserole</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/sausage-egg-breakfast-casserole/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 05 Feb 2014 02:28:51 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Breakfast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quick]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Weeknight]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=3834</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[The list of things I&#8217;ve heard approximately nine billion times today includes:  &#8220;I&#8217;m bored.  I&#8217;m hungry.  Can we have hot chocolate now?  Can we go outside yet?  Where&#8217;s Daddy? Can we put our princess stickers on our wall yet?  Can I go to Jordan&#8217;s house tomorrow? Can I have a treat?  Will you paint my fingernails? Where are my tap shoes?&#8221; Welcome to my snow day. We got about ten inches of snow today, which means my boss was kind enough to allow us to skip the commute and work from home.  My husband was home sick, my oldest daughter was sick yesterday evening, so I spent the day working and mommy-ing and wishing I was on a warm beach for just a few blessed minutes. Snow days were so much more awesome when we were kids. Luckily, I had all of the ingredients to whip up this quick and easy breakfast.  It takes just a few minutes and the girls love it.  In fact, they ate it for both breakfast and lunch today, which made my day just a little bit easier.  My youngest (the princess sticker-treat seeker-tap shoe daughter) loves to dip hers in salsa.  My oldest (hot chocolate-Jordan&#8217;s house-fingernail painting daughter) likes to dip hers in a bit of sour cream. Those girls&#8230;they both talk, a lot.  In fact, I&#8217;m pretty sure that my only quiet moments today came while they were eating egg casserole. Don&#8217;t get me wrong, I love the chatter.  Almost always.  But today, a few minutes of peaceful coffee-drinking and watching the snow would&#8217;ve been appreciated. Somedays, there isn&#8217;t enough egg casserole. This recipe is somewhat flat, almost frittata-like. The casserole sits on a base of crescent rolls, almost like a breakfast pizza, and the sausage and cheese hold it all together.  Today I used pepperjack cheese, but I usually use cheddar or monterrey jack.  I&#8217;ve used bacon instead of sausage before, too &#8211; just do what you like, you can&#8217;t really mess this up. We always save the extras and keep them in the refrigerator for a few days &#8211; this makes a great on-the-go breakfast. For those of you who got the snow storm today, stay safe and warm!  And for those of you who live on the beach &#8211; can I come visit?   I&#8217;ll bring egg casserole&#8230; Hope you love it.  Enjoy! Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet, make sure you stop by my Facebook page and follow along – you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!  Please leave a comment below to let me know you were here!   ♥erin Sausage &#38; Egg Breakfast Casserole &#160; Print Prep time 15 mins Cook time 20 mins Total time 45 mins &#160; A beautifully simple breakfast, this can be made ahead and reheated for a quick weekday morning meal, too! Serve with a dollop of sour cream for an extra decadent treat! Recipe courtesy of: {Bran Appetit&#124;http://www.branappetit.com/2011/11/16/breakfast-casserole-blog-for-a-cause/] Serves: 12-18 servings Ingredients &#189; po.und breakfast sausage 1 package crescent rolls 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded 5 eggs &#188; cup milk 1 teaspoon oregano or fresh rosemary &#189; teaspoon salt &#188; teaspoon pepper Instructions Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Set aside. In a heavy skillet, brown the sausage over medium heat, and use a wooden spoon to break into small crumbles. Drain grease, and set aside. Unroll the crescent rolls and place in the bottom of a 9×13 pan, pressing the seams together to make one large sheet of dough. Use your fingers to press the dough just slightly up the sides of the pan as well. Liberally the sausage over the dough. Grate your cheese, and sprinkle on top of the sausage. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs,milk, oregano or rosemary, salt, and pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the top of the casserole. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes until the crust is golden and the eggs are set. Garnish with additional rosemary and pepper, if desired. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<item>
		<title>Almond Joy Cupcakes</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/almond-joy-cupcakes/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 03 Feb 2014 04:29:42 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Coconut]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cupcakes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nuts]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=3824</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m pretty sure I told you in a recent post that we&#8217;ve cleaned up our eating habits in our household since the beginning of the year.  Nothing crazy, but just a renewed focus on eating healthy, real food and avoiding processed, chemical-ly food.  We don&#8217;t do diets, because we&#8217;ve learned over the years that they just don&#8217;t work. I really don&#8217;t have much trouble passing up all of the goodies that I bake anyway, a taste or two will usually suit me just fine.  But I&#8217;ve got to tell you that was not the case today.  These cupcakes are irresistible.   They are definitely a treat, and I definitely indulged, and I definitely didn&#8217;t have one little tiny bit of regret. If you love Almond Joy candy bars, you&#8217;ve GOT to make these.  The cake is a simple chocolate pudding cake, but the frosting is the real winner here.  The buttery coconut frosting is just like the inside of the famous candy bar, and then they&#8217;re dipped in melting chocolate.  A quick sprinkle of almonds before the chocolate hardens will have you convinced that you&#8217;re actually eating an Almond Joy. I know you&#8217;re going to love these.  Give &#8217;em a try and stop back by to tell me what you thought. Enjoy! Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet, make sure you stop by my Facebook page and follow along – you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!  Please leave a comment below to let me know you were here!   ♥erin Almond Joy Cupcakes &#160; Print Prep time 30 mins Cook time 20 mins Total time 1 hour 15 mins &#160; Just like the popular candy bar, these chocolate cupcakes are topped with a delicious coconut frosting and dipped in more chocolate. Delicious and fun! Enjoy! Recipe source: Your Cup of Cake Serves: Approx 24 cupcakes Ingredients Cupcakes: 1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix 4 eggs 1 cup oil 1 small (3.4oz) package chocolate instant pudding 1 cup sour cream 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Frosting: &#189; cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened 8 oz cream cheese, softened 2 cups shredded coconut 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3-4 cups powdered sugar 2 cups (about 1lb bag) chocolate melts &#189; cup sliced almonds Instructions Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F).) Prepare two cupcake pans (24 wells) with cupcake papers. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, oil, sour cream, vanilla and pudding. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 60 seconds. Evenly divide batter among cupcake papers, filling each about &#189; full. Bake 16-19 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Frosting: While cupcakes are cooling, using the paddle attachment, beat together butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth and creamy. Add coconut and vanilla, and beat to combine. Add powdered sugar, a cup at a time, until desired consistency is met. Spoon frosting into a piping bag, and pipe a large dollop of frosting on to each cupcake. Use a frosting knife to smooth the top of the frosting. Melt chocolate according to package directions until completely smooth. Dip each cupcake into the chocolate, and immediately top with a sprinkle of almonds. Allow chocolate to set, and enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>Pink Velvet Cupcakes</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/pink-velvet-cupcakes/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/pink-velvet-cupcakes/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 27 Jan 2014 04:31:47 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cupcakes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Valentine's Day]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=3814</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[This is my second attempt at pink velvet cupcakes.  The first was bad, so very bad.  I don&#8217;t understand, because that particular recipe gets rave reviews everywhere, but to me it tasted like a blueberry muffin, sans blueberries.  It was just kind of blah.  They were like little, pink, blueberry-less muffins.  Kind of sad little things. So after going back to the drawing board and searching for an ingredient list with more flavors, I settled on this one from a Taste of Home cookbook.  I was immediately happier with the results, and even though I&#8217;m pretty sure my husband was rolling his eyes at me, I could even SMELL the difference while they were baking.  They smelled like cupcakes, not muffins. I&#8217;m not crazy.  I&#8217;ve just made about ninety bajillion cupcakes in the last three years.  My nose knows. So, in my search, I also found myself asking what determines whether a velvet cupcake is actually velvet.  Turns out, it&#8217;s the combination of a buttermilk-based cake and a cream cheese frosting.  And there is NOTHING wrong with that. I actually was a little bit worried that the cream cheese frosting would taste weird on a vanilla cupcake, but it&#8217;s perfectly delicious.  I even filled the cupcakes with a marshmallow filling to mellow out the tanginess of the frosting a bit, but it&#8217;s not necessary if you don&#8217;t want to mess with it. Although, if we were playing Rock-Paper-Scissors, a filled cupcake would be the rock.  An unfilled cupcake would be the scissors.  Meaning, the filled cupcake would win EVERY time. I have no idea what would be the paper.  My brain cannot fathom something that is lesser than an unfilled cupcake but greater than a filled cupcake.  I think that might actually be secret behind the flux-capacitor and what actually makes time travel possible.  So, when you figure it out, let me know. Wow. I don&#8217;t even know.  Maybe I am just a little bit crazy. What I DO know is that these are adorable, they&#8217;re perfect for Valentine&#8217;s Day, and you&#8217;re going to love them. Enjoy! Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet, make sure you stop by my Facebook page and follow along – you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!  Please leave a comment below to let me know you were here!   ♥erin Pink Velvet Cupcakes &#160; Print Prep time 25 mins Cook time 20 mins Total time 1 hour 30 mins &#160; A lighter and cocoa-free version of its red velvet cousin, the pink velvet cupcake is made with buttermilk and topped with the same delicious cream cheese frosting. A perfect treat for Valentine's Day! Enjoy! Recipe source: Taste of Home Best Loved Recipes Serves: Approx 24 cupcakes Ingredients Cupcakes: 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 1 cup granulated sugar 1-3 drops pink gel food coloring 3 eggs, room temperature 1 and &#189; teaspoons vanilla extract 2 and &#189; cups all-purpose flour 1 and &#189; teaspoons baking powder &#188; teaspoon baking soda &#188; teaspoon salt 1 cup buttermilk Filling 14 ounces Marshmallow Fluff/Creme 1 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 and &#189; teaspoons vanilla extract Cream Cheese Buttercream: 1 cup unsalted butter, softened 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature 2lbs confectioners sugar &#189; cup heavy cream 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Instructions Cupcakes: Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). In a large bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add food coloring, halfway through creaming. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and beat to combine. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt) Add &#8531; of flour to mixture, beat until just combined. Add &#189; the buttermilk, and beat until just combined. Add &#189; of remaining flour, beat until just combined. Add remainder of buttermilk, beat until just combined. Add the rest of the flour, and beat until just combined. Fill cupcake lined tins &#8532; full. Bake 18-22 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from pan, and cool completely on wire rack before filling and frosting. Filling: In a large bowl, beat together butter, marshmallow and vanilla until light and fluffy. Spoon filling into a large piping bag fitted with a &#188; inch round or star tip. Press the tip into the top of each cooled cupcake, and apply light pressure to fill cupcake. Filling will ooze out of the top of the cupcake, but it will be covered with frosting so that's ok. Frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and cream cheese until completely combined and smooth. Add confectioners sugar and beat on low. Slowly drizzle cream into mixture and continue to beat on low just until mixture is moistened. Add vanilla, and increase speed to medium. Beat until light and creamy. Add additional cream a teaspoon at a time if needed. Frost as desired. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>Spiced Apple Coffee Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/apple-cake/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/apple-cake/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 25 Jan 2014 04:24:35 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Breakfast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Other Desserts]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=3806</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[SERIOUSLY, what is with the ridiculous winter this year?  If I hear the term &#8220;Polar Vortex&#8221;  one more time, I just might lose it. Listen, I get that I live in the Midwest, and normally I am all about the changing seasons, but this winter has been particularly brutal and un-lovely. If it&#8217;s going to be minus umpteen million degrees, could we at least have a bit of snow?  And maybe ease up on the wind?   Please, Mother Nature? {Speaking of winter, I took the girls to see Frozen last weekend.  Have you seen it? ADORABLE.  Go see it, and you&#8217;re welcome.} This frigid weather is definitely motivation to turn on the oven and bake, and this is the perfect recipe to warm you right up.  There&#8217;s just something so warm and comforting about apples and cinnamon, isn&#8217;t there?  With a big old mug of coffee?  Perfect. Wait until you see the batter for this cake.  It&#8217;s slightly tangy from the cream cheese, but it&#8217;s SO silky and smooth and velvety, you really won&#8217;t be able to wait for it to come out of the oven.  Your house will smell fantastic, and the only thing that will help you deal with the torture of waiting for it to finish baking is that your will be rewarded with a delicious piece of cake. Oh, and don&#8217;t forget the glaze.  It gets a little bit crackly on top, but stays oozy and gooey underneath, which is almost too much to deal with. I kind of love this cake. The apples are big enough that they don&#8217;t get lost in the cake, and it&#8217;s thanks to them that the cake stays super moist.  If you are an apple fan, you&#8217;ve GOTTA make this cake. Hope you love it.  Enjoy! Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet, make sure you stop by my Facebook page and follow along – you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!  Please leave a comment below to let me know you were here!   ♥erin Spiced Apple Coffee Cake &#160; Print Prep time 20 mins Cook time 1 hour 10 mins Total time 1 hour 30 mins &#160; Perfectly moist, spicy and flavorful, this apple coffee cake has a rich and tender crumb, perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. The sweet vanilla glaze adds a touch of flavor, perfect with a big mug of coffee. Enjoy! Recipe source: Williams Sonoma Muffins Cookbook Serves: Approximately 12 servings Ingredients Cake: 1 and &#190; cups all-purpose flour 1 and &#189; teaspoons baking powder &#188; teaspoon salt 3 tart cooking apples (Granny Smith, Braeburn, etc.) or 1lb total weight, peeled cored and coarsely chopped 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice &#8531; cup packed brown sugar 1 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground cardamom (don't have it? just double the cinnamon) &#189; cup unsalted butter at room temperature 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature 1 and &#189; cups granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 large eggs at room temperature For glaze: &#190; cup powdered/confectioners sugar 2 Tablespoons milk or cream &#189; teaspoon vanilla extract Instructions For cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Prepare a 9x9 baking pan with cooking spray and parchment paper. Allow flaps of parchment to hang over the side of the pan to help with removal. Set aside. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, toss chopped apples with lemon juice. In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, cardamom and cinnamon. Pour over apples and stir to thoroughly coat. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine butter, cream cheese and granulated sugar, and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time and beat each until fully incorporated. Add vanilla, and beat to combine. Slowly add dry ingredients, beating until just incorporated. Don't overbeat. Use a spatula to fold the apples into the batter. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 60-70 minutes. Check done-ness with a cake tester or toothpick, it should come out clean. If cake gets too dark on top, you can cover it with foil for the last 15 minutes or so. Allow to cool on a wire rack in the pan for 10 minutes. Use parchment paper flaps to lift cake out of the pan, and place on a wire rack. Place the wire rack and cake over a baking sheet or a piece of parchment paper before icing to catch drips. For glaze: Combine powdered sugar, milk and vanilla in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Add more milk a few drops at a time if necessary, to reach a smooth and pourable consistency. Pour over warm cake. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>Neapolitan Cupcakes</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/neapolitan-cupcakes/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/neapolitan-cupcakes/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 20 Jan 2014 15:56:44 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cupcakes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Summer Favorites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[slider]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=3790</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[  ho&#8217;s ready for dessert?  Let me just tell you that I haven&#8217;t had dessert (outside of taste-testing Iced Oatmeal Cookies and Chocolate Syrup Bundt Cake) since Christmas.  Like many of you I&#8217;m sure, we go on a bit of a detox at the first of the year to get off the holiday stuff-your-face-with-all-of-the-yum train, so our kitchen has been more spinach and less butter. It&#8217;s kind of sad, actually. But really, it&#8217;s good and it&#8217;s nice to get back into the swing of things and focus on health and nutrition.  Which is why it&#8217;s particularly hard to whip up a batch of these tempting little cupcakes and then just take pictures of them and not eat 16 of them. It&#8217;s practically torture. PS &#8211; practically torture = absolutely torture. I even took the finished product to my parents house, and I still came home with a dozen of them. Now, they&#8217;re staring at me from their little glass house on my countertop.  It&#8217;s 9am, and I am talking myself out of eating a cupcake. But you guys, they are SO good.  I&#8217;m not even a fruit with chocolate kind of person, but these work.  If you love Neapolitan Ice Cream, these are totally for you.  If you love strawberry and chocolate, these are for you.  If you are a living, breathing human, these are for you. I have had a lot of questions and comments lately about frosting, so I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about it.  Most of the frosting recipes that I provide are to make the cupcakes exactly as I show them in my photos. If you are using a butter knife to frost your cupcakes, ALWAYS cut the recipe in half. Piping bags use a TON of frosting.  They just do. Now, that being said, a piping bag will take your baking up a notch.  Your cupcakes will be prettier, and you&#8217;ll have fun playing with all of the tips and methods depending on how you want them to look. I should also note that piping bags aren&#8217;t terribly expensive.  You can buy disposable bags for about a quarter a piece, or you can buy a reusable bag for about five bucks.  I have used both, and both work great. You can buy tips for a couple of dollars a piece, depending on the size you buy.  I almost ALWAYS buy the jumbo tips, with the exception of the Wilton 1M tip, which is a large tip.  DO NOT buy the regular tips.  Don&#8217;t.  They will never give you the look you want. If you want more info on piping technique, check out this post from Make Bake Celebrate.   Now, as far as filling cupcakes goes, I used to use the cone method.  Lately though, I just use a smaller piping tip and push it down inside the cupcake and apply light pressure to squeeze some filling into the middle of the cupcake.  It works like a charm, and it takes just a couple of minutes to fill all of the cakes. Just don&#8217;t squeeze too hard or too fast.  Exploding cupcakes are a real thing.  Truuuuuusssssst me. And, once you start filling your cupcakes, everyone will always expect all of your cupcakes to be filled.  My sibs actually express disappointment when they bite into an unfilled cupcakes.  They&#8217;re spoiled. Hope you all enjoy these.  I&#8217;m going to do everything possible NOT to enjoy every single one of them today.  Torture, I tell ya. Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet, make sure you stop by my Facebook page and follow along – you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!  Please leave a comment below to let me know you were here!   ♥erin Neapolitan Cupcakes &#160; Print Prep time 30 mins Cook time 22 mins Total time 1 hour 30 mins &#160; A true treat for Neapolitan Ice Cream lovers, this strawberry cupcake is filled with a decadent marshmallow filling, and topped with a swirled chocolate and vanilla frosting. Enjoy! Serves: Approx 24 cupcakes Ingredients Strawberry Cupcakes: 2 and &#190; cups all-purpose flour &#189; cup cake flour, (not self-rising) 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 2 and &#188; cups sugar 3 large eggs 1 large egg white 1 cup whole milk 1 and &#189; teaspoons pure vanilla extract 2 cups finely chopped strawberries several drops of red/pink food coloring or gel paste Marshmallow Filling: 1 cup butter, softened 2 (7oz) jars marshmallow fluff/creme 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Chocolate Vanilla Swirl Buttercream: 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 1 (2lb) bag confectioners sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract &#188; to &#189; cup heavy whipping cream &#188; cup cocoa powder Instructions Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake pans with cupcake liners; set aside. Place strawberries in a small food processor; process until pureed, set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg white until just blended. With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended. Add food coloring if desired, and blend completely. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. (Mine only took 20 minutes, so keep an eye on them!) Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before frosting and filling. Marshmallow Filling: Place butter, marshmallow creme and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed until smooth and completely incorporated. Spoon filling into a piping bag fitted with a small round, star or filling tip. Using light pressure, insert tip into top of cupcake and squeeze filling into cupcake. Filling will ooze out of the top, but that's ok, you'll cover it with frosting. Repeat until all cupcakes are filled. Chocolate and Vanilla Swirl Buttercream: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar, and beat on slow just until slightly incorporated. Add cream and vanilla, and beat until light and fluffy. Add more cream if necessary to reach desired thickness. Remove half of the frosting from the bowl, and spoon it into one side of a piping bag fitted with desired piping tip. Set aside. Add cocoa powder to remaining frosting, and beat to combine. Again, add more cream if desired to reach desired consistency, and scrape bowl to completely incorporated vanilla frosting. Spoon chocolate frosting into the other side of the piping bag. Apply pressure to the bag, and pipe frosting like you normally would. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<item>
		<title>Kitchen Sink Blondies</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/kitchen-sink-blondies/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/kitchen-sink-blondies/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 19 Jan 2014 01:54:50 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Bars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brownies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=3778</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Have you ever witnessed something really, really mean?  Like, something that you can&#8217;t even believe that you just witnessed?  I overheard a conversation the other day that just left me flabbergasted.  Obviously I wasn&#8217;t meant to overhear the conversation because they were mostly whispering, but I did. It bothered me.  And here I am, way after the fact, and it&#8217;s still bothering me.  They were whispering, laughing, plotting and making fun. It was like watching a bunch of bullies in action.  Adult bullies.  It was disgusting. Now, I know that I am probably a little more sensitive than your average bear, things that others allow to roll off their shoulders tend to stick with me and fester for days, but to watch a bunch of adults being total jerks just made me shake my head.  It was&#8230;disgusting. Isn&#8217;t bullying supposed to be a juvenile, adolescent problem?  Aren&#8217;t adults supposed to learn from the mistakes of oh, you know, their TEENAGE years and treat others with kindness and respect?  My eight year old daughter has more sensitivity and empathy in her pinky finger than these folks exhibited yesterday. Since there&#8217;s absolutely nothing I can do about what I witnessed, I instead took a few minutes to talk to my girls about what I saw, how it made me feel, and how it would&#8217;ve made the person they were being mean to feel if they&#8217;d overheard them. And do you know what my oldest daughter said to me? She said I needed to give that mean person a hug.  She said that bullies usually have more problems than the people they&#8217;re bullying.  She said most people are mean because they need a hug to help their anger go away. She&#8217;s eight.  She gets it. I have never been more proud of her.  I don&#8217;t know if I have what it takes to give that bully a hug, but I&#8217;m glad my kid does. Anyway. End of story, let&#8217;s talk about these blondies. I am a big, huge fan of the blondie.  It&#8217;s a cross between a brownie and a cookie, full of brown sugar to make it chewy, and in this case, full of pretty much everything else in your pantry.  From butterscotch chips to chocolate chunks, walnuts to coconut, these are a mouthful and they are deeeelicious. If there&#8217;s an ingredient you don&#8217;t like, omit it.  Want pecans instead of walnuts?  No prob.  White chocolate chips instead of butterscotch?  Okie dokie. These are fantastic, and easy to boot. The only way you can mess these up is if you over-beat the batter.  Once you start adding the flour, turn your mixer off as soon as all of the flour is absorbed.  Stir your mix-ins using a spatula or heavy wooden spoon.  Bake just until a cake-tester comes out clean, and you will be on your way to perfect blondie bliss. It&#8217;s a thing. Hope you give these a try, soon! Maybe I need to give some of these to those bullies.  Maybe these blondies will help their anger go away? Nah. Enjoy, everyone.  And let&#8217;s all play NICE!  😉 Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet, make sure you stop by my Facebook page and follow along – you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!  I’d love to hear from you, so be sure to leave a comment below! ♥erin Kitchen Sink Blondies &#160; Print Prep time 20 mins Cook time 40 mins &#160; These chewy blondies are chock full of butterscotch, chocolate, coconut, walnuts, toffee and a delicious brown sugar flavor. Enjoy! Recipe courtesy of Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours Serves: 12-3 inch brownies Ingredients 2 cups all-purpose flour &#190; teaspoon baking powder &#189; teaspoon baking soda &#189; teaspoon salt 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1&#189; cups (packed) light brown sugar &#189; cup sugar 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup store-bought chocolate chips 1 cup butterscotch chips or Heath Toffee Bits 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut Instructions Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees (F). Butter a 9×13-inch baking pan and put it on a baking sheet. Line pan with parchment paper so paper flaps hang over the side of the dish. This will help you remove the brownies later. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or using a hand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add both sugars and beat for another 3 minutes, until well incorporated. Add the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Turn the mixer to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing just until they disappear into the batter. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chips, nuts and coconut Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and use the spatula to even the top as best you can. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the blondies comes out clean. The blondies should pull away from the sides of the pan a little and the top should be a nice honey brown. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for about 15 minutes before using the parchment to move the blondies out onto another rack. Allow to cool completely, and enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>Healthy Chicken Salad</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/healthy-chicken-salad/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/healthy-chicken-salad/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Jan 2014 04:01:43 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Guilt Free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Main Courses]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sandwiches]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Summer Favorites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Weeknight]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=3770</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[As I&#8217;m sure is the case with many of you, January always brings a renewed focus on health and fitness in our household.  The gluttony of November and December is long-gone, and the reality of dusty treadmills and suddenly snug pants starts to sink in. So, we happily dig out our favorite healthy recipes, and wonder why we ever stopped eating them in the first place.  I don&#8217;t know what it is about November and December &#8211; I know there&#8217;s a lot of food around for the holidays, but for some reason, all of the bad habits start to set in &#8211; eating out too often, making poor decisions at the grocery store and unconscious face-stuffing&#8230;but why? I mean, I&#8217;m as guilty as anyone &#8211; I have a blog entirely focused on sweets, treats and comfort food, for Pete&#8217;s sake &#8211; but with the plethora of healthy recipes on the internet alone these days, there&#8217;s really just no excuse.  Busy isn&#8217;t an excuse anymore, either. Our rule of thumb is to strive for 85% conscious, clean, real food. If we eat consciously 85% of the time, we can really enjoy that 15% &#8211; reserved for special occasions, drinks out with friends, and well, the occasional cupcake. This particular recipe is a favorite of mine &#8211; not only is it super-duper easy thanks to rotisserie chicken, but it&#8217;s just as tasty as it&#8217;s calorie-laden cousin made with mayo. Greek yogurt is the best thing that&#8217;s ever happened to me, I tell ya&#8230;it&#8217;s tangy and creamy and you SERIOUSLY won&#8217;t miss your mayo. We love this chicken salad as a wrap and as a quick sandwich, and if I leave the red onions out, my girls eat this up, too. This is another totally customizable recipe &#8211; you can replace cranberries with raisins, grapes with dates or figs, almonds with walnuts, apples with pears&#8230;finding your favorite combo is part of the fun. And, you&#8217;ll feel good about what you&#8217;re eating.  Oh, and did I mention it goes together in just a few minutes?  Bonus. Enjoy! Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet, make sure you stop by my Facebook page and follow along – you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!  I&#8217;d love to hear from you, so be sure to leave a comment below! ♥erin Healthy Chicken Salad &#160; Print Prep time 15 mins Total time 15 mins &#160; This quick and easy chicken salad replaces mayonnaise with greek yogurt for a healthy meal that you can feel good about enjoying! Recipe source: Adapted from Damn Delicious Serves: 4-6 servings Ingredients 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded 1 green apple, coarsely chopped &#8531; cup dried cranberries &#188; cup slivered almonds &#189; red onion, finely chopped &#8532; cup green grapes, halved &#190; cup greek yogurt 1 Tablespoon lemon juice salt, pepper and garlic powder, to taste buns, bread or wrap, for serving Instructions Shred rotisserie chicken, set aside. Chop onion, apples and grapes, set aside. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Stir to combine. Season to taste, and serve as a sandwich or wrap. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>Charred Poblano White Chicken Chili</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/roasted-poblano-white-chicken-chili/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/roasted-poblano-white-chicken-chili/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Jan 2014 04:03:14 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Guilt Free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Main Courses]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Soups and Stews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Weeknight]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=3752</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I had a heck of a time naming this recipe for you, because &#8211; I don&#8217;t know.  This feels like a soup to me, but &#8220;White Chicken Chili Soup&#8221; sounds funny to me.  It&#8217;s one teeny-tiny step away from a Rachael Ray made up word, like &#8220;stoup&#8221; or &#8220;sammie&#8221; or something equally annoying. Disclaimer:  I love Rachael Ray, but I CAN&#8217;T DEAL with the made up words.  All of the time.   WHY, RACHAEL, WHY ALL OF THE PRETEND WORDS?  I know it&#8217;s a combo between a soup and a stew, but there is NO reason to call it stoup.  NONE.   Oh, and the day she made &#8220;stoup and sammies?&#8221;  FOR REAL??!?!?! I also can&#8217;t deal with all of the capitalized letters.  Sorry. *calming down* So, this lovely little dish is a version of one of my mother-in-law&#8217;s recipes.  I can still remember the first time she made it for me.  It was many years ago, and I was still in the uncomfortable, don&#8217;t-want-to-ask-for-seconds-because-you-still-intimidate-the-crap-out-of-me phase of our relationship, but holy cow, it was good stuff. I wasn&#8217;t intimidated enough to ask for the recipe though, and I&#8217;ve been making it ever since, with a few little tweaks over time. One of the biggest changes I&#8217;ve made to the recipe is that I just buy a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store, because it saves a ton of time.  I can have this chili on the table for dinner in just about 45 minutes, but most of that is simmer time. (Simmer time = your house will smell awesome while you sit on the couch and do nothing.) I also add poblano and jalapeno peppers to our chili, where my mother-in-law did not.  I&#8217;ve been on a charred poblano kick lately, and I HIGHLY recommend that you try it out.  If you don&#8217;t have a gas stove, you can get the same result on your outdoor grill or even with a kitchen torch if you have one of those handy.  Essentially, you are just charring the skin of the pepper over an open flame, which gives it a deeper flavor and slightly cooks the inside of the pepper.  Once it&#8217;s charred, the blackened skin wipes off and you&#8217;re left with a very tasty pepper, perfect for white chicken chili. Here&#8217;s a handy visual for you if you&#8217;re interested in giving it a try: (click here) Awesome thing number 57,987 about this recipe: it makes a TON of chili, perfect for lunch leftovers later in the week.  I like to top mine with a little dab of sour cream, some chopped avocados and cilantro, and my girls like to eat theirs with topped with tortilla chips. I have to say though, this is great because it&#8217;s super, super healthy, very low calorie, and you totally feel like you&#8217;ve indulged after a big, warm bowl of this chili.  Plus, it&#8217;s chili.  Once you get a good base down, it&#8217;s very easy to adjust the flavor for your taste buds. Hope you love it, and enjoy! Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet, make sure you stop by my Facebook page and follow along – you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!   ♥erin Charred Poblano White Chicken Chili &#160; Print Prep time 10 mins Cook time 35 mins Total time 45 mins &#160; This quick, easy and healthy white chicken chili finds depth in charred poblano peppers and is a delicious way to serve guilt-free comfort food. Serves: 12-16 servings Ingredients 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded 1 Tablespoon olive oil 2 boxes (about 8 cups) chicken stock, low sodium 4 (15oz) cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained 1 large poblano pepper, charred (directions below) &#189; medium white onion, chopped 1-2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped (optional) 1 can green chilis, chopped &#189; cup salsa verde 1 Tablespoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper salt, to taste Optional: sour cream, for serving chopped avocado, for serving tortilla chips, for serving cilantro, for serving Instructions To char pepper: On a gas-stovetop or grill, lay pepper directly on grate over medium flame. Carefully watch the pepper, and turn with tongs to char every side until black. Allow to cool, then peel blackened skin from pepper. Once cooled, chop into small pieces. For soup: Prepare all ingredients - drain and rinse beans, shred chicken, chop onion and peppers. In a large soup pan or dutch oven, heat 1 Tbs olive oil over medium heat. Combine chopped, charred poblano pepper, jalapeno (if using) and onion and heat until onion turns just slightly translucent. Add remaining ingredients: chicken, chicken stock, beans, green chilis, and spices. Stir to combine. Simmer for 30-45 minutes. Taste, and adjust seasoning to fit your liking. Add salt as desired. Serve with chopped avocado, sour cream, tortilla chips and cilantro. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>Iced Oatmeal Cookies</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/iced-oatmeal-cookies/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/iced-oatmeal-cookies/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 05 Jan 2014 16:47:50 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cookies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=3740</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[In my mind, there are only three excuses for a crispy cookie:  gingersnaps, Oreos, and a few that you can buy from the Girl Scouts. That&#8217;s it. Otherwise, cookies should be chewy.  It should be a law. Oh, I guess biscotti is ok too &#8211; but I don&#8217;t really consider that  a cookie, (even though it totally is a cookie) so I&#8217;m not going to count it.  But even so, out of all of the millions of cookies out there, only four should be crispy. I love the idea of those little iced oatmeal cookies at the grocery store &#8211; you know, they usually come in a bag&#8230;or sometimes they come in those trays for like, $1.  For some reason, they always look SO appealing to me. But then you give in and buy them and you about chip your tooth because they&#8217;re so dang hard and crispy.  That is NO BUENO. So last month, when I saw this amazing recipe from Mother Thyme come across my reader, I knew that they were happening, ASAP.  And they did.  And they&#8217;re fantastic.  No tooth-chippers here. I used to get really frustrated with cookies, so I stopped making them for years.  But then, I read an article in a cooking magazine that changed it all for me.  There are a few tips for great cookies that you need to know. First, use parchment paper.  Next time you&#8217;re at Target or Wal-Mart, buy a roll and just keep it for a rainy, cooking-making day.  Parchment paper does two things &#8211; it obviously prevents sticking, but it also helps prevent cookies from spreading too fast.  I like to lightly spray my pan with cooking spray, which gives the parchment something to stick to, and then very lightly spritz the parchment with spray, too. Secondly, don&#8217;t let your butter get too warm.  I like to let my butter rest on the counter top for just 20 minutes before I start.  The butter should still be pretty chilled, but just slightly soft.  Like parchment paper, this tip also helps prevent too-thin, greasy cookies.  Along the same lines, I like to keep my unused cookie batter in the refrigerator between batches.  When it comes to cookies, chilled batter just bakes better. Also, be sure that you have fresh baking powder and baking soda.  These ingredients give your cookies a boost and help them rise, and they just don&#8217;t work very well when they&#8217;re old.  Replace them every three months or so.  Even with as much baking as I do, I still buy the small boxes of baking soda so I don&#8217;t feel bad if I don&#8217;t use the whole box.  (Or, you could use your leftover baking soda to make some homemade soft pretzels!) All ovens are different, so be sure you know where your &#8220;sweet spot&#8221; is in YOUR oven.  Mine is in the upper 1/3 of my oven.  If you find that your cookies are getting too done on the bottom, raise your rack, or even try doubling up your cookie sheets.  I like to use aluminum cookie sheets (link here) because the dark coated pans usually cause over-browning for me, especially for things like cookies. Don&#8217;t over-beat your batter once your dry ingredients have been added.  Just mix until the flour is incorporated and then stop.  JUST STOP.  Over beating makes your cookies tough and dry.  And crispy.  Crispy = bad. Take your cookies out of the oven just before they look done.  Once the edges start to turn a light golden brown, they can come out.  Let them sit outside of the oven on the cookie sheet for 2-5 minutes, then carefully move them to a wire rack. I like to keep two cookie sheets in rotation.  You should never scoop cookie dough on to a warm cookie sheet, so once a batch comes out of the oven, I like to have another ready to go while my just-baked batch is cooling.  By the time your next batch is done, your other pan should be cool.  Putting cookie dough on a hot, just out of the oven pan will begin the cooking process before you put them in the oven.  The result will be thin, greasy cookies. Finally, invest in a cookie scoop.  Just do it.  (link here)  Your cookies will be all the same size and perfectly round. It sounds like a lot, but once you master those few &#8220;rules&#8221; of cooking making, I promise you&#8217;ll have more success!  And, what better recipe to test your new skills than this one?  This cookie is everything you want those grocery store oatmeal cookies to be, and more. They&#8217;re soft, they&#8217;re chewy, and they&#8217;re full of brown sugar and oatmeal, which helps the chewiness factor.  The warm spicy flavors from cinnamon and nutmeg do magic things when you combine them with the creamy glaze. So, so good.   Keep them in an airtight container and you&#8217;ll have a ton of chewy cookies at your beck and call, whenever you need them. Enjoy! Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet, make sure you stop by my Facebook page and follow along – you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!   ♥erin Iced Oatmeal Cookies &#160; Print Prep time 20 mins Cook time 10 mins Total time 60 mins &#160; This retro cookie is a better version than your favorite grocery store treat. Slightly chewy, slightly spicy and totally delicious. Recipe Source: Mother Thyme Thank you for a great recipe, Mother Thyme! Serves: 24-36 cookies Ingredients Cookies: 2 cups old-fashioned, rolled oats 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 Tablespoon baking powder &#189; teaspoon baking soda &#189; teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons cinnamon &#188; teaspoon nutmeg 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but cool 1 cup light brown sugar &#189; cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 eggs Glaze 2 cups confectioners sugar &#188; cup heavy cream (or milk) Instructions Cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside. In a food processor, pulse oats until coarse, but not powder. Combine oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together butter and both sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, beat to combine. Add flour in three additions, beating each addition until just combined. Use a small cookie scoop (or a tablespoon) to form 1.5 inch balls of dough. Place dough on cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are just starting to turn golden brown around the edges. Allow to sit on cookie sheet for a couple of minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough, but be sure to use a cool cookie sheet for each new batch. I rotate two cookie sheets, giving one time to cool between batches. While cookies are cooling, prepare glaze. Glaze: Whisk together confectioners sugar and heavy cream. Add more cream if needed to reach a thick but runny consistency. Dip the top of each cookie quickly into the glaze, then place it back on the wire rack to drip dry and allow the glaze to harden. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>A look back at 2013</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/look-back-2013/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/look-back-2013/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 31 Dec 2013 23:58:58 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=3714</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Wait, can anyone else believe that 2013 is over?  Where did it go?   I feel like I spent a good portion of it in the kitchen, and that&#8217;s just fine by me.  I hope you&#8217;ve enjoyed the goodies I&#8217;ve shared with you over the past twelve months. I know I have. I love to look back at the end of the year and see what you guys liked the best.  I have to say, your favorites this year are some of mine, too.  Take a look at your top ten Lemon Sugar recipes from 2013: (click on image for link to recipe) Number 10:  Easy Cheese Danishes Number 9:  Creamy Skillet Mac and Cheese Number 8:  Vanilla Coconut Banana Cream Pie Number 7:  Deep Fried Pickles with Spicy Ranch Number 6:  Strawberry Cupcakes with Ice Cream Buttercream Number 5:  One Hour Cinnamon Rolls Number 4:  Perfect Sweet Tea (with a secret ingredient!) Number 3:  Mint Chocolate Chip Cake Number 2:  Dark Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie Number 1:  Orange Sweet Rolls It&#8217;s been a great year, folks.  I wish you all health, happiness and lots of yummy treats in 2014.  Happy New Year! Enjoy! ♥]]></description>
		
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		<title>Chocolate Syrup Bundt Cake</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/chocolate-syrup-bundt-cake/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/chocolate-syrup-bundt-cake/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Dec 2013 02:24:39 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lemon-sugar.com/?p=3702</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[So today, I got this craving.  I was craving this cake from my past.  It was an AMAZING chocolate bundt cake, topped with an almost-crispy, sugary glaze.  I loved that cake. Problem is, I have absolutely no idea where it came from.  My only memory is the yumminess of the yummy, yummy cake.  I feel like it was from a deli somewhere, like a Panera, Schlotzsky&#8217;s, or Einstein Bagel-kinda place, but I honestly have no idea. Memories like that make me feel like I&#8217;m out of my mind.  I have been racking my brain ALL DAY and I can&#8217;t figure it out. Anyway. The cake was fantastic, and today I decided to replicate it.  Or try, at least. I needed a cake that was extra tender and full of chocolate flavor, but not super dark chocolate, and the glaze had to be very thin and almost crackly in texture. The glaze is SPOT. ON.  The cake was pretty darn close, so we&#8217;re going to go ahead and call this one a success. I am a big fan of bundt cakes because they&#8217;re super easy and perfect for a casual dessert, pot-luck or even a weeknight treat.  However, bundt cakes can be scary because if they stick in the pan, your perfectly lovely cake can end up looking like an ugly mess.  BUT, I have a trick for you and if you follow it exactly, I promise your cakes won&#8217;t stick, ever. So first, melt 2 Tablespoons of unsalted butter in a measuring cup, then whisk in 2 Tablespoons of cocoa powder.  Use a pastry brush to coat every single crevice of your bundt pan.  Then, go over it to make sure you didn&#8217;t miss anything. Your cake will come out perfectly, every time. If you aren&#8217;t making a chocolate bundt cake, replace the cocoa with flour.  Same result!  Your bundt cakes will never stick again!  Yay for secret tips! I do have to admit that the reason I selected this recipe in the first place was because it uses a can of chocolate syrup, which totally feels retro to me and reminds me of my childhood.  I always see the little metal cans with yellow plastic lids at the store and never really have a reason to buy them, but I definitely jumped at the chance when I found this recipe.  I loved that stuff over my ice cream when I was a kid, and I have to say that I was sad I used the whole can and didn&#8217;t have any leftover&#8230;especially since the very best way to eat this cake is with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Whipped cream is good too, but nothing beats chocolate cake and ice cream. Nothing. And if any of you Midwesterners out there remember a cake like this, let me know.  It&#8217;s DRIVING me NUTS. Enjoy! Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet, make sure you stop by my Facebook page and follow along – you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!   ♥erin Chocolate Syrup Bundt Cake &#160; Print Prep time 20 mins Cook time 1 hour 20 mins &#160; A simply wonderful bundt cake recipe, complete with chocolate syrup, bittersweet chocolate and a light sugary glaze. Get the cold milk ready! Recipe source: Southern Living Magazine Serves: Approximately 12 servings Ingredients Cake: 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped 1 (16-oz.) can chocolate syrup 1 cup butter, softened 2 cups sugar 4 large eggs 2&#189; cups all-purpose flour &#189; teaspoon baking soda &#188; teaspoon salt 1 cup buttermilk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Pan prep: 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder Glaze: 2 cups powdered (confectioners) sugar 4 Tabespoons milk &#189; teaspoon vanilla extract &#188; cup unsalted butter,melted Instructions Cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter in a measuring cup. Whisk in cocoa powder until smooth. With a pastry brush, generously brush every crevice of your bundt pan. This will prevent sticking. In a microwave-safe bowl at HIGH for 30-second intervals until melted (about 1&#189; minutes total). Stir in chocolate syrup until smooth. Tip: Use a rubber spatula to stir the chocolate and fold the syrup into the melted chocolate. This will help prevent your chocolate from seizing.) Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla and melted chocolate just until blended. Pour batter into prepared 14-cup Bundt pan. Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and let cool 30 minutes or until completely cool. Glaze: Stir melted butter and milk into powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Add vanilla, stir to incorporate. Pour glaze over warm cake. Use a pastry brush to cover the entire cake, if desired. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>Biscuits and Gravy Casserole</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/biscuits-gravy-casserole/</link>
					<comments>https://lemon-sugar.com/biscuits-gravy-casserole/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Dec 2013 04:31:09 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Bread]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Breakfast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Popular]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[slider]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[My dear brother-in-law has been staying with us over the last week.  It&#8217;s awesome because of course I love it when he&#8217;s home, and I get excited every year because he&#8217;s someone new to cook for &#8211; another person to eat the holiday goodies that I&#8217;m inevitably churning out. But the truth of the matter is that he really doesn&#8217;t eat much.  He&#8217;s not a breakfast person.  I know these things.  But I still, every single year, force new breakfast dishes upon him like he&#8217;s going to change his mind and decide that he absolutely wants a big breakfast instead of his coffee. I think he had one little bite of this. One little bite. He must have some serious self-control or something, &#8217;cause there is no way that I was going to walk away from this one.  I mean, biscuits and gravy are fantastic on their own, but baking the biscuits IN THE GRAVY takes them up to an entirely different level.   The biscuits SOAK UP THE GRAVY.  I was actually worried that the bottom layer of biscuits would get soggy, but they didn&#8217;t.  They were like little, perfectly cooked biscuit dumplings or something.  Soaked in gravy. Did I mention they are soaked in gravy? The gravy gets all bubbly and extra creamy, and those biscuits find a way to cook just perfectly. So, so good. The awesome thing about this recipe is how easy it really is.  Of course store-bought biscuits take the convenience factor up considerably, but my favorite gravy trick makes easy work of the gravy, too. Yes, I have a gravy trick. And I don&#8217;t know if it&#8217;s actually a trick, but I didn&#8217;t know about it until a few years ago and it&#8217;s revolutionized my gravy-making. Yes.  REVOLUTIONIZED. The trick is to just sprinkle the browned meat with flour to make a roux in the skillet.  Cook the flour-coated meat for a few minutes until the flour-flavor goes away, and THEN add the cream and spices. Don&#8217;t try to mix your flour into your liquid and then pour it in.  You&#8217;ll get lumps.  Everytime. Make the roux with the meat, and get lump-free gravy, without fail. You&#8217;re all like, &#8220;Duh, Erin.  That&#8217;s like Gravy 101.  Where have you been?&#8217; Well whatever.  It&#8217;s my gravy trick, and it&#8217;s totally worth sharing for those of you who aren&#8217;t doing it. Hope you love this one.  It&#8217;s quick and easy, and super delish.  It was kid-approved, husband-approved, and I even caught my brother-in-law picking at the leftovers mid-morning. He so wishes he was a breakfast person, I know it. Enjoy! Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet, make sure you stop by my Facebook page and follow along – you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!  Leave me a comment below and enter to win! ♥erin   Biscuits and Gravy Casserole &#160; Print Prep time 15 mins Cook time 20 mins Total time 35 mins &#160; A different take on traditional biscuits and gravy, this easy breakfast casserole is a fun way to mix things up at the breakfast table. Serves: Approx 8 servings Ingredients 1 can large, flaky biscuits (such as Grands) &#189; pound ground breakfast sausage 3 Tablespoons flour &#189; teaspoon salt &#189; teaspoon black pepper 2 and &#189; cups milk Instructions Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F). Prepare a small casserole dish (approximately 7x10) with cooking spray. Set aside. Open biscuits, and cut biscuits into quarters. Layer half of the quarters in prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare gravy. In a heavy skillet, brown the ground breakfast sausage over medium high heat until fully cooked. Sprinkle the cooked sausage with 3 Tablespoons of flour. Use a wooden spoon to stir flour into sausage until completely absorbed. Lower heat to medium, and cook flour/sausage mixture for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add milk, and stir to combine. Add salt and black pepper. Stir frequently until mixture comes to a slight boil. Taste, and adjust seasonings as desired. (I usually add more black pepper) If the gravy is too thick, add a bit more milk. You want the gravy to be thickened but not too thick, not "globby," it should still be slightly runny. Pour gravy over the cooked biscuits. Layer the remaining uncooked, quartered biscuits over the gravy. Place casserole dish on a baking sheet, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. If they start to over-brown, you can cover with foil for the last 10 minutes or so. Serve immediately. Enjoy! 3.2.2925]]></description>
		
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		<title>One Hour Maple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls</title>
		<link>https://lemon-sugar.com/one-hour-maple-pecan-cinnamon-rolls/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Erin {Lemon Sugar}]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 21 Dec 2013 20:43:20 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Bread]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Breakfast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Giveaway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Other Desserts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Slideshow]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[This is officially the third time I&#8217;ve used my One Hour Cinnamon Roll Dough on the blog.  There was the original, the Cherry Sweet Rolls, and now these. I think these win. These are Maple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls, and they&#8217;re fabulous. Oh yeah- and they can be made start to finish in an hour.  No big whoop. YES.  ONE HOUR.  CINNAMON ROLLS IN ONE HOUR, FOLKS! So today, we changed it up a bit &#8211; I added some sticky-sweet pecans to the filling, and doused the entire pan in a maple glaze.  The rolls soak up all of that glaze and with a nice big mug of hot coffee &#8211; not sure there&#8217;s anything better. I should make it known that this makes a LOT of HUGE cinnamon rolls &#8211; 24 rolls, to be precise.  And they&#8217;re all about five inches in diameter.  So yeah.  Big.  But really, that&#8217;s a very good thing because they go quickly.  My little family demolished half of them in a matter of minutes, and we wrapped up the rest for breakfast this week. Actually, I think we&#8217;re having chili tonight just because we have leftover cinnamon rolls, so they might not make it to breakfast.  Since we have a winter storm rolling in &#8211; I&#8217;m super excited to make a big pot of chili and hang out in my comfy clothes &#8211; and what goes better with comfy clothes, a snowstorm and a pot of chili than a warm cinnamon roll? Nuthin. These rolls go together in a snap &#8211; a large stand mixer will come in very handy, but a big bowl and a wooden spoon work too.  The dough is perfectly smooth, and thanks to the SIX TABLESPOONS of yeast, they rise in a snap.  They only have to rise once, and just for 20 minutes at that.  Try to find a nice warm, draft-free corner of your kitchen and cover them lightly with a tea-towel,and by the time you clean up your mess in the kitchen, the rolls will be ready to go in the oven.  While they&#8217;re baking, whip up your glaze, and in just another 20 minutes or so you&#8217;ll be stuffing your face with cinnamon rolls. It&#8217;s like, impossible not to.  Seriously. Anyhoo, before we get too much farther, I need to stop and tell you about my latest project with #bakingadifference. This year Fleischmann’s® Yeast, Fleischmann’s® Simply Homemade® Baking Mixes and Karo® Syrup – trusted baking products that have helped people create beautiful homemade bread, baked goods and delicious desserts for more than 100 years – have launched the Baking A Difference campaign to benefit Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry® campaign to help end childhood hunger in America through the power of baking. To learn more about the Baking A Difference campaign and get the latest recipes and baking tips from Fleischmann’s® Yeast, Fleischmann’s® Simply Homemade® Baking Mixes and Karo® Syrup, visit Facebook.com/FleischmannsYeast, Facebook.com/SimplyHomemadeMix, Facebook.com/KaroSyrup and Pinterest.com/BeABetterBaker. Fleischmann’s® Yeast, Fleischmann’s® Simply Homemade® Baking Mixes and Karo® Syrup are calling all bakers to bake for a cause. If you like to mix up treats in the kitchen, then we challenge you to bake for someone you love and bake a difference.  Inspire family, friends, teachers, neighbors and others to get involved in the Baking A Difference campaign and Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign. Collectively, we can all harness the power of baking recipes and bake a difference together to end child hunger in America. It&#8217;s a great program, and I&#8217;m honored to be a part of it.  To celebrate the cause, I&#8217;m hosting an AMAZING giveaway for Lemon Sugar readers &#8211; and it&#8217;s easy to enter! All you need to do is a leave a comment telling me your favorite holiday tradition, and you’ll be entered to win a premium three-piece stoneware baking set for oven to table transition, a set of 12 porcelain white appetizer plates to serve your rolls to guests, and a chef-quality wooden rolling pin to make your baking easy, and a basket of Fleischmann’s Yeast, Karo Syrup and Simply Homemade varieties, including the new Pretzel Creations, as well as Spice Islands Cinnamon to help you get baking! Remember, this recipe is for charity &#8211; you can help No Kid Hungry end childhood hunger in America by promoting this post with the hashtag #BakingADifference. *This post was sponsored with products alone by  Baking a Difference, but all opinions and words are – as always – my own. A special thanks to Karo, Fleischmann’s Yeast, andFleischmann’s Simply Homemade!  Good luck, and enjoy! Don’t forget, if you haven’t yet, make sure you stop by my Facebook page and follow along – you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!  Leave me a comment below and enter to win! ♥erin One Hour Maple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls &#160; Print Prep time 40 mins Cook time 20 mins &#160; Maple pecan cinnamon rolls in under an hour? You bet! A quick and easy recipe that's sure to please. Enjoy! Serves: 24 large cinnamon rolls Ingredients For dough: 3 and &#189; cups warm water (about 115 degrees F) &#190; cup sugar &#189; cup vegetable oil 6 Tablespoons Fleischmann’s Rapid Rise yeast 1 Tablespoon salt 3 eggs at room temperature 11 cups all-purpose flour For filling 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup white sugar 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted 1-2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon &#8531; cup Karo corn syrup (optional) 1 cup chopped pecans (optional) For glaze: 4 cups powdered/confectioners sugar &#189; cup half and half &#188; cup brewed coffee (or replace with milk if you don't like coffee flavor) &#190; stick (6 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted &#8539; teaspoon salt &#188; cup maple syrup Instructions For rolls: Prepare two large cookie sheets (half-sheet size) with parchment paper or silpat mats. Set aside. In a large bowl (I used my 6qt stand mixer), combine water, yeast, oil and sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes. Add eggs, flour and salt, and mix for 10 minutes. I used the dough hook on my stand mixer. You can also do this by hand, with a wooden spoon until it all comes together, and then a kneading motion for the rest of the time. Pour dough onto a floured surface, and knead until dough is soft, smooth and not too sticky. Only add additional flour if it's unworkable and sticking to the surface and your hands. Roll dough into a large rectangle, approximately 18x26 inches. Filling and Assembly: In a small bowl, stir together pecan pieces and Karo Syrup. Set aside. Spread melted butter over the top of the dough. Then, top with brown sugar, white sugar and cinnamon. Spoon pecans over dough, and spread slightly. Roll the dough into a log. Cut into 24 1-inch pieces. Place rolls on to prepared cookie sheets. Cover them with clean towels and set aside to rise for 20 minutes in a warm, draft-free spot. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees (F). Bake for 12-20 minutes or until golden brown. {The original recipe called for just 10-12 minutes, but I had to bake mine for 20 minutes and they were perfect.} For glaze: Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Stir or whisk until smooth. Pour glaze over rolls as soon as they come out of the oven. Enjoy! 3.2.2925 Sweepstakes Rules: No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#bakingadifference”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post If you don&#8217;t have Twitter, you can email an entry to me at erin at lemon-sugar dot com. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winner  will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. This sweepstakes runs from 12/20/13-12/31/13.  Winner will be announced on 1/1/2014.]]></description>
		
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